West Palm Beach, Florida – January 7, 2010  – Workforce Alliance announced today that it is Palm Beach County’s link for the statewide “Florida Back to Work” program recently introduced by Governor Charlie Crist to bolster the economy of the State and to create new jobs.

Under the rules of the “Florida Back to Work” program, public and private employers will be able to submit an application through Workforce Alliance for participation in this project.  If the State approves the application, the majority of salary costs for new employees will be covered on a time-limited basis.

The pool of federal funds being made available to Palm Beach County is to help drive down the County’s unemployment rate, which reached 11.7 percent in November, compared to the State’s unemployment rate of 11.5 percent. 

West Palm Beach, Florida -- October 20, 2009 -- Workforce Alliance is sponsoring the appearance of nationally known authorities on workforce issues at a Palm Beach County Workforce Leadership Forum on January 27 and the fourth annual Workforce Summit in May 2010.  Each event will address topics pertaining to workforce issues commonly faced by employers.

Kathryn Schmidt, President and Chief Executive of Workforce Alliance, said, “We are fortunate to be able to host two outstanding speakers who will provide solutions and unique insight for employers facing workforce challenges.  The vision, principles and ideas to be presented during these events will contribute to our workforce development planning process for the continued growth of the Palm Beach County’s economic and business interests.”

The events are a continuation of the Workforce Forums and Summits of the past three years and are open to all businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, employers and community organizations that wish to participate.  The series of events is intended to identify breakthrough solutions to workforce issues and identify the knowledge, skills and abilities that employers will require in the future.

West Palm Beach – October 15, 2009 – Numerous Palm Beach County employers are scheduled to recruit potential new employees at the Job and Benefits Fair for Veterans being held at the Workforce Alliance Career Center in West Palm Beach on Friday, November 6, 2009, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The companies that will be conducting interviews and seeking to hire veterans include major employers such as Boca Resort & Hotel, Boca West Master Association, Carmax, Champion Solutions Group, Cintas Corporation, Comcast Cable, DeVry University’s Keller Center for Corporate Learning, Florida Power and Light, G4S/Wackenhut, General Dynamics Aviation Services, Hilton Garden Inn, Home Depot, Office Depot, Sears Roebuck & Co., the US Border Patrol, US Remodelers, the V.A. Medical Center, and Valley Crest Landscape Maintenance.

West Palm Beach, Florida – October 14, 2009 – Workforce Alliance is on the road again with their two Mobile Resource Units.  They will be strategically placed at various locations throughout Palm Beach County in the coming weeks to better serve area job seekers. The goal is to make its no cost employment services more accessible to job seekers in their local communities, which augments the services of the three Workforce Alliance Career Centers.

Each Mobile Resource Unit is equipped with internet access computer stations, and staff professionals are available to help job seekers prepare resumes, do on-line job searches, register on the employment website, Employ Florida (www.employflorida.com), and provide current information on available jobs.  During October and November, the mobile unit will be at various Palm Beach County library sites.  In addition to Workforce Alliance announcements, each library will publicize the dates and times of their visits in advance.

Kathryn Schmidt, President and CEO of Workforce Alliance, said, “This is a countywide initiative to ensure we are reaching as many people who need our services as possible. In an effort to support the increasing employments needs of Palm Beach County, we invite other organizations to contact us with additional locations with public access that would be suitable for the temporary location of the Mobile Units. 

After a Mobile Unit visited the Main Library on Summit Boulevard in September, 2009, Susan Berger, Business Librarian, stated, “With increased unemployment comes an increased requirement for assistance in our communities. We promoted the visit of the Workforce Alliance Mobile Unit ahead of time and gave job seekers the opportunity to pre-register, but walk-ins were also welcomed.  Feedback from our customers was very positive.”

Job seekers are encouraged to check out their local library’s calendar of events.  In addition, flyers will be posted in all library locations prior to the visits. On an ongoing basis, job seeker services are available at any of Workforce Alliance’s three career centers, located in West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach and Belle Glade.  For location addresses and more information, please visit www.pbcalliance.com or call 561-340-1060. 

The Workforce Alliance Mobile Units are also available for local businesses.  Pre-employment screening, assessment or orientation, hiring events and training for current employees, can be made available at nearly any business location.  For more information, please contact 561-340-1060 ext. 2312.

Workforce Alliance is the non-profit company chartered by the State of Florida to develop and manage a workforce system in Palm Beach County.   It operates three Career Centers and offers its professional services to all employers and job seekers in the County. 

Palm Beach County, Florida – August 20, 2009 – More than one thousand young adults of Palm Beach County, aged 18 to 24, have obtained summer jobs at employer worksites throughout Palm Beach County with their wages being paid by Workforce Alliance. The funds are being provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly known as the “Stimulus Bill” and the jobs are being provided by area businesses and municipalities.

Kathryn Schmidt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Workforce Alliance, said, “The entire community contributed to making the summer youth program successful and can be justly proud of its results. The Palm Beach County employers participating in the program are very pleased with their ‘summer hires.’ The participants went through a required three-day work readiness course prior to reporting to their six-week employment assignment.”

Ms. Schmidt added, “We are very thankful to the businesses and municipalities who volunteered to take part in the program by providing safe and meaningful employment experiences that will help the young participants get started on a career, or earn money to further their education.”

Participating employers and youth have shared these comments:

FASTSIGNS of North Palm Beach employed participant Andrew Cesar at its Northlake Blvd. facility and owner, Lisa Bondurant said, “He is an interested and quick learner, and is also extremely appreciative of any training and assistance he is provided.” The company has rotated him from the production side to the graphics department for a full learning experience with the business. One of the projects he completed was a sign to be used by Workforce Alliance as it places its mobile resource units in community outreach locations.
Summer Youth Employment and Training Program participant, Andrew Cesar, was employed by FastSIGNS of North Palm Beach, and is shown here with owner Lisa Bondurant.

West Palm Beach, Florida – August 13, 2009 – Workforce Alliance is applying approximately $10 million in recently-awarded American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, popularly known as stimulus funds, to significantly expand its employment services and operations in Palm Beach County.

Kathryn Schmidt, President and CEO of Workforce Alliance, said, “The additional funding is approximately $10 million and is targeted to benefit the economic progress of Palm Beach County through increased services to businesses as well as job training and job placement services for the unemployed. Our advice to employers at this time is for them to analyze their current and anticipated needs for employee hiring, retention and training in anticipation of possible opportunities for grants or funding from Workforce Alliance.

Some of the resources and programs expanded by stimulus funding and available to employers through Workforce Alliance include:

• hiring incentives / tax credits;
• training grants / matching dollars for the training of existing employees;
• recruitment and hiring assistance;
• access to professional and executive-level job candidates;
• screening of mid-level and entry-level job seekers;
• local job postings;
• outplacement services;
• business start up and expansion resources; and
• localized labor market and employment information.
 

Ms. Schmidt added, “Palm Beach County employers can use our expanded resources for their complete human resource needs and should talk to one of our Business Services Representatives (561-340-1060) for full details.”

West Palm Beach – July 7, 2009 – Hundreds of young adults began their new jobs this week in the employment phase of Workforce Alliance’s Summer Youth Employment and Training Program. Each youth completed a three-day orientation and training session prior to reporting to a Palm Beach County employer for a work assignment and a summer job.

Kathryn Schmidt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Workforce Alliance, said “When in full operation, the summer work program will employ approximately 1,000 eligible youth and young adults aged 18 to 24 at employer sites in Palm Beach County for a six week period. The additional youths will begin working after completing our on-going orientation and work training sessions.”

She added, “The young people were very impressive during the three-day work training sessions and I am convinced that the employers will be very pleased with the initiative and willingness to work displayed by the participants.”

Belle Glade, Florida – July 6, 2009 -- Workforce Alliance, who earlier in the year awarded Glades General Hospital a $27,500 grant for workforce training, is pleased to announce that 44 nursing staff have completed the program and have been awarded advanced certifications.  The training program was designed to help the nursing staff prepare for the use of greater technology when the hospital transitions into its modern new facility, the Lakeside Medical Center, later this year.                                                     

Workforce Alliance’s Employed Worker Training Program is a funding source that is available to eligible businesses seeking to improve the skills and qualifications of their current employees.  The recent program with Glades General Hospital provided training for 21 staff members to earn Healthcare Certification Level One and for 21 additional staff to attain Level Two Certification.  Another four employees completed training to become on-staff training professionals.  As a result of the training, the participating employees increased their skills and many became eligible for higher level positions.

Kathryn Schmidt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Workforce Alliance, said “Workforce Alliance will fund the employment of approximately 1,000 eligible youth and young adults aged 18 to 24 at employer sites in Palm Beach County for a six week period beginning on July 6^th. The wages for the youth will be provided by Workforce Alliance and the work will be done for local companies and municipalities.”