Minutes

• Chair Susan Ryan presided over the meeting. The meeting was called to order at 7:38am and a membership quorum was present.

• There was no public comment.

Chair Ryan informed the group that the inaugural Industry Insights was held at the Center last week. This installment of Industry Insights focused on the manufacturing sector. Forty-four attendees were present representing manufacturing companies, education, associations and economic development in the County. There was a robust around the challenges faced by the industry, successes and local resources available in the community. A survey was sent out to the employers and next steps will be determined based on the results of the survey.

Chair Ryan introduced two new members, Rahnee Pattrick, the Director of Rehabilitation Services for the State of IL and Lisa Schvach, the Director of the Workforce Development Division for DuPage County. There were also two proxies present, Stefanie Jazka for Kim Godden and Stephanie Leschman for Tiffany Rotondo.

• Motion to approve by Member Giles
• Seconded by Member Jarman
• All ayes, MOTION APPROVED

Member Kuglin-Seago presented the Member Minute. She manages Project Hire-Ed an apprenticeship program at the College of DuPage. She discussed the success of the program as well as the challenges. Member Kuglin-Seago is looking forward to her tenure on the Board and being part of board- led initiatives.

Jamie Brown presented the One Stop Operator report December 2024-February 2025. As expected, referrals increased from December to January as many people start or restart their job search after the holidays. College of DuPage continues to have the highest referrals. Referrals spiked in January for the Department of Human Services but leveled off in February. Jamie shared a service integration success story about a family who was able to receive assistance and referrals across multiple organizations to assist with their employment and education goals in the US.

Member Schvach reviewed the fiscal report in Member Cassidy’s absence. Member Schvach reminded the group that 80% of the grant dollars must be expended by the end of the program year which is June 30, 2025. This benchmark has been achieved.  Lisa also reviewed the Minimum Training Expenditure which is set at 50%. The current numbers are below the required 50% and Member Schvach said this is due to a lack of additional grant dollars which offset the Minimum Training Expenditure.  Member Schvach and the fiscal team are monitoring this benchmark closely.

There was one training program up for renewal this month, the Practical Nursing Program at Illinois College of Nursing. This program is over the $10K training cap which means workNet will cover the last 10K of the program to ensure completion of the program. The healthcare programs are generally over the 10K cap, and the Board would like to examine the program data and possibly increasing the cap. Jamie will gather data on the healthcare programs that are funded by workNet for the Boards consideration.

• Motion to renew the LPN program at Illinois College of Nursing by Member Giles
• Second by Member Wendorf
• All ayes, MOTION APPROVED

Jamie presented the WARN report and there were two events: LGSTX Services and Grunt Style. LGSTX Services provides airport support services, and the positions affected varied. LGSTX notified employees of their termination the day the WARN notification was received so Rapid Response services were not available to the affected workers. The second layoff was Grunt Style, a manufacturer of patriotic apparel. 100 workers were affected, mostly production and retail positions. A Rapid Response workshop is scheduled for 3/26/2025.

Jamie provided the workNet DuPage update. Jamie reviewed information on unemployment numbers, top job openings by occupation in the County, and median wage for the top occupations. She reviewed the data on training providers by funding stream. The dollars for dislocated customers and adult customers (low income) are very similar, 44% of funds are expended on dislocated workers and 43% of funds are expended on adult (low income). Jamie also reviewed the training providers who received the most funding to the least. College of DuPage receives the most funding and Verve College receives the least.

Geri Kruger, Executive Director of NAMI, presented on mental health in the workplace and services offered by NAMI DuPage.

There was no old business.

Member Schvach explained to the group that she is exploring a program which is offered by ComED called Tools of the Trade. The program is a 6-week pre-apprenticeship program that prepares that prepares 17-19 year olds for entry-level jobs in the skilled trades. She mentioned that WIOA eligibility may affect the ability to fund such students.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05am.