Category Archives: News

PENNSYLVANIA WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION CONVENES 800 PROFESSIONALS AT 38th ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Welcomes Gov. Wolf, Launches Local Workforce System Award

Camp Hill, Pa.  –  After a two year run as a virtual conference, the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association (PWDA) kicked off its 38th annual conference earlier this week at the Hershey Lodge.

PWDA represents the state’s 22 local workforce development boards and the associated, extensive statewide workforce development system. Its annual conference welcomes hundreds of leaders in workforce development across Pennsylvania, and is an interactive event providing up to the minute research and training, inspiring front-line staff to change job seekers’ lives, and fostering the essential statewide workforce network.

The theme of this year’s conference is “workforce redesigned,” reflecting the many changes in the workforce system as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and other notable factors affecting employment, including the snowballing retirements of the Baby Boomer generation, the “baby bust” that the United States is currently experiencing, as well as the so-called “Great Resignation.”

Governor Tom Wolf and the Leadership Panel

On Friday May 6th, PWDA hosted Governor Tom Wolf as part of its Leadership & Policy Panel, also featured Jennifer Berrier, Secretary, PA Department of Labor & Industry, Meg Snead, Acting Secretary, PA Department of Human Services, and Tanya I. Garcia, Deputy Secretary and Commissioner for Postsecondary and Higher Education, Pennsylvania Department of Education.

New Award Recognizes Montgomery County Workforce Professional

Also this year, in recognition of the hard work and commitment shown by workforce staff throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, PWDA is launching a third award category — the Workforce Phoenix […]

PA Workforce Development Association hosts panel on homelessness and workforce development

Camp Hill, Pa. (Dec 9, 2021)  –  The Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association (PWDA) will hosted a virtual panel on the growing risk of eviction and foreclosure in the Commonwealth and how the workforce development system can help address it.

Guests on the panel are Robert Cherry, Chief Executive Officer at Partner4Work, the leader of the public workforce system for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County; Robert Henry, Administrator of the Chester County Partnership to End Homelessness at the Chester County Department of Community Development; and Mike McKenna, Chief Executive Officer of Tenfold, a nonprofit organization providing solutions to housing challenges in Lancaster County and Southcentral Pennsylvania region.

PWDA Executive Director Carrie Anne Amann will host the one-hour webinar that is part of the PA@Work series connecting leaders to collaborate, strategize, build capacity, and identify innovative solutions that lift up Pennsylvania workers, employers and communities.

“The PA@Work series focuses on the intersection of workforce development and the social determinants of health, including access to care, food, insurance coverage, income, housing, and transportation,” Amann said. “Our association represents the entire workforce system across the Commonwealth, and there is perhaps no more pressing challenge for so many working families as access to safe and affordable housing.”

Mike McKenna says that his agency, which works to ensure quality, fair and affordable housing that is inclusive to  all people through proactive coaching, education, lending, and advocacy, says in Lancaster County alone there are over 5,000 applications in the […]

Inaugural fellows begin intensive program in government relations best practices

Camp Hill, Pa. –  The Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association (PWDA) today inaugurated its Policy and Advocacy Fellowship Program, welcoming 16 participants from public, private, and nonprofit workforce organizations throughout the Commonwealth to its virtual certificate course.

PWDA Executive Director Carrie Anne Amann greeted the workforce professionals, all chosen from through an application-only process, in an online session this morning.

“This new program has two goals,” Amann said. “To raise the collective capacity of our workforce system members to engage in workforce development advocacy at the federal, state, county, and local level and to provide selected fellows with intensive training on the federal and state legislative, administrative, and appropriations processes, as well as tangible experiences in developing and utilizing advocacy strategies.”

The members of the PWDA Policy and Advocacy Institute Fellows Inaugural Class are:

• Angelic Hardy, Lock Haven University 
• Anna Ramos, Lancaster County Workforce Development Board 
• Dillon Moore, Partner4Work 
• Gwen Ross, PA Dept. of Community & Economic Development 
• Hillary Lyle, SCPA Works 
• Jamece Joyner, PhilaWorks 
• Jennifer Diaz, Goodwill Keystone Area 
• Judd R. Pittman, PA Dept. of Education 
• Kim Bell, Rosedale Technical College
• Lauren Holubec, Harrisburg University 
• Markese Long, Partner4Work 
• Marlyn Barbosa, Tec Centro SACA
• Mary Turner, Reading Area Community College 
• Pam Streich, Workforce Solutions for North Central PA 
• Shuana Davis, PA Dept. of Labor & Industry 
• Tara Dwyer, PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning

The program is virtual this year out of an abundance of caution about the COVID-19 risks, Amann said. She hopes it will be in person in 2022.

The first order of business for the fellows today will be to meet the […]

Continuing the rollout of his groundbreaking PAsmart initiative, Governor Tom Wolf announced $10.8 million in PAsmart Advancing Grants to expand access to computer science and STEM education for Pennsylvania learners. Combined with PAsmart Targeted Grants announced in 2020, the Wolf administration has awarded nearly $20 million to bolster STEM and computer science (CS) in schools during the 2020-21 school year. Read more on the awards here. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden has picked Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be his assistant secretary of health, leaving her poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

A pediatrician and former Pennsylvania physician general, Levine was appointed to her current post by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017, making her one of the few transgender people serving in elected or appointed positions nationwide. She won past confirmation by the Republican-majority Pennsylvania Senate and has emerged as the public face of the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

more

Governor Tom Wolf today announced nearly $4.7 million in PAsmart Next Generation Industry Partnership grants were awarded to bolster workforce development across Pennsylvania.

“Employers need skilled workers now more than ever,” said Governor Wolf. “My administration created PAsmart to help close the skills gap and allow more people to get the education and training they need to get better paying jobs. Strengthening job and skills training continues to be a priority and the 28 grants announced today further enhances that goal.”

The Next Generation Industry Partnership grants bring together multiple employers in the same industry to collectively provide targeted job training so that students, workers, and job seekers get the skills for good jobs in those industries.

“Programs like the Next Generation Industry Partnership are helping Pennsylvania be at the forefront of the economic changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Department of Labor & Industry Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier. “By aligning businesses in the same industry to create training programs, we can provide Pennsylvania workers with the skills they need for today’s job opportunities while helping multiple businesses develop a strong candidate pool.”

The Wolf Administration has invested $88 million through the PAsmart since 2018. The initiative provided $28 million to expand job training through registered apprenticeships and industry partnerships and $60 million to support STEM and computer science education in hundreds of schools across Pennsylvania.

more

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine today implored Pennsylvanians to take the next three weeks and stand united against the virus by adhering to existing mitigation orders and stricter efforts announced today.

“Today I am announcing additional, temporary COVID-19 protective mitigation measures in the commonwealth,” said Gov. Wolf. “With these measures in place, we hope to accomplish three goals: First, stop the devastating spread of COVID-19 in the commonwealth. Second, keep our hospitals and health care workers from becoming overwhelmed. And third, help Pennsylvanians get through the holiday season – and closer to a widely available vaccine – as safely as possible. This is a bridge to a better future in Pennsylvania.”

The new, limited-time mitigation orders take effect at 12:01 a.m. on December 12, and remain in effect until 8 a.m. on January 4, 2021.

more