Minutes

• Chair Jane Clark presided over the meeting. The meeting was called to order at 7:33am and a membership quorum was present.

• There was no public comment.

Chair Clark informed the group that last week Member Wollensak led a presentation about interviewing for workNet clients. Over 60 people attended the feedback from the job seekers was overwhelmingly positive. Member Wollensak also stayed after the conclusion of her presentation and made herself available for additional questions from job seekers. Chair Clark reminded the group that if there is a topic of interest or should anyone want to get involved in programming at the Center to let Jamie know.

Chair Clark introduced new member Louise Hrubecky. Louise is a Rehabilitation Counselor for the Illinois Department of Human Services – Division of Rehabilitation Service. Louise has been with the Department since 1993, just after graduating from college. She has served in a supervisory capacity at a variety of times over the last 15 years.

• Motion to approve by Member Bedalov
• Seconded by Member Keating
• All ayes, MOTION APPROVED

Member Chandler presented the Member Minute. Member Chandler is the Director of Fleet Maintenance at UPS. One of the significant challenges UPS faces is the shortage of skilled trades workers. Although many do not see the value in the skilled trades, they provide a great career path for those who are not interested in a traditional college education. Member Chandler also stated that he has gotten more involved with his human resources department so he can better understand the hiring process. Member Chandler is active on different Boards and has donated his time and equipment to local training institutions.

Jamie presented on the upcoming one stop certification that is due to DCEO by 6/30/2024. Each One Stop Center must be certified every 3 years and approved by the Board. The certification application is broken down into four areas: effectiveness, accessibility and infrastructure, accommodations, and continuous improvement. The process requires the completion of the certification checklist which will be shared with the certification team. Jamie informed the group that a few individuals have volunteered to be a part of the certification team, but if anyone is interested, they are more than welcome to join. One area of the checklist the group briefly discussed is the hours of operation for the Center. The current hours of the Center are 8:00-4:30. These algin with the hours at the County. The group agreed to keep the hours of operation the same moving forward.

Jamie presented the OSO report. The number of applications is steady with February having the most applications. Individuals ramp up their job search post-holidays, so that could be a contributing factor. Jamie explained that the referral system has been automated and referrals and referral status can be seen in real time. Additionally, partners now have the ability to refer to each other- in March and April there were 63 and 55 partner referrals respectively. Referral numbers are consistent month to month, with IDES and COD receiving the most referrals. Jamie also shared a service integration success story of a woman who received services through IDES as well as workNet DuPage. With the assistance of these two agencies, the client is back to work and grateful for the support she received during her job search.

Jamie reminded the group that a Request for Proposals will need to be released for the One Stop Operator. The group reviewed the scope, Member Keating had one minor edit to the scope. Member Giles asked about the timeframe to have a new OSO in place. The RFP will be released within the next week, and it must be posted for a minimum of 30 days. After the RFP is scored and a provider selected, the contract must be approved by the DuPage County Board. The hope is to have a new OSO in place by end of summer/early fall.

• Motion to approve by Member Giles
• Second by Member Keating
• All ayes, MOTION APPROVED

All approved training programs are required to be recertified every year. There are several programs from different providers that are up for renewal. There are no changes to the price or the programs itself. The group reviewed the list of approved programs for CompTIA, DeVry University online and Fast Lane Consulting and Education Services.

• Motion to approve renewals for the above providers by Member Wollensak
• Second by Member Szczepaniak
• All ayes, MOTION APPROVED

One program which requires approval is the CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst. This program is generally part of a bundle but a customer who has previous IT experience has requested this program as a standalone, it makes sense given his work history. Member Cassidy shared that at COD they have standalone offerings, however, there has not been a strong demand. The group also discussed the training cap and how individuals are funded when bundled programs are offered.

• Motion to approve Comp TIA Cybersecurity Analyst Certification by Member Giles
• Second by Member Chandler
• All ayes, MOTION APPROVED

Jamie presented the WARN report. There are 3 events: Elite Staffing (66), Oak Point University (37) and Volta Charging Industries (1). Unfortunately, both Elite and Oak Point did not take advantage of the rapid response services offered to them. Lisa stated that this is an ongoing issue and a missed opportunity for both the employer and affected employees. Member Giles acknowledged there could be improvements made to the process. Member Wendorf offered to reach out to the state in an effort to increase the number of employers taking advantage of the services available to them and their employees.

Member Cassidy presented the fiscal report. One noteworthy item on the report shows much higher expenditures for the Adult grant as opposed to the Dislocated Worker grant. Lisa is currently working on a budget modification which will even out the expenditures in these funding streams. The repost illustrates that the 50% training minimum is exceeded in all three funding streams.

Lisa presented the workNet update. She reviewed unemployment data, payroll data and the labor force participation rate. She also informed the group that WIOA is up for reauthorization – the bill that has been proposed is called “A Stronger Workforce for America Act” or ASWA. One of the main recommendations of the bill is a mandated 50% training minimum. The definition of training is extremely narrow and does not account for the breadth of services customers receive. The passage of the 50% training minimum could impede other valuable WIOA programming including services offered to employers. Lisa also touched on AI, she recently attended an AI webinar and is excited about the possible ways that AI can be utilized for workforce development. Member Wendorf commented that he knows a gentleman well-versed in AI and he is happy to connect him to workNet.

There was no old business.

There was no new business.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:51am.