Located in:
- III. Operational Planning ElementsThe Unified or Combined State Plan must include an Operational Planning Elements section that support the State’s strategy and the system-wide vision described in Section II.(c) above. Unless otherwise noted, all Operational Planning Elements apply to Combined State Plan partner programs included in the plan as well as to core programs. This section must include—
- a. State Strategy ImplementationThe Unified or Combined State Plan must include—
- 2. Implementation of State StrategyDescribe how the lead State agency with responsibility for the administration of each core program or a Combined Plan partner program included in this plan will implement the State’s Strategies identified in Section II(c). above. This must include a description of—
- 2. Implementation of State Strategy
- a. State Strategy Implementation
III. a. 2. B. Alignment with Activities Outside the Plan
Describe how the activities identified in (A) will be aligned with programs and activities provided by required one-stop partners and other optional one-stop partners and activities provided under employment, training (including Registered Apprenticeships), education (including career and technical education), human services and other programs not covered by the plan, as appropriate, assuring coordination of, and avoiding duplication among these activities.
Current Narrative:
Program and activity alignment with core partners is primarily achieved through Minnesota’s 48 WorkForce Centers, the network of Adult Basic Education providers and community—based organizations who are contracted with through the local workforce development boards. All activities related to career services, training and business services are available through these established working relationships. Minnesota has approved six regional plans which is inclusive of the sixteen local workforce development areas and their respective local plans. These six regions have all organized a regional governance structure which is representative of key stakeholders. Collectively, they continue to develop strong regional networks to address their needs with a keen focus on addressing the disparities gaps — race disability, disconnected youth, and gender opportunities within industry sectors. One such example is the coordination between Adult Basic Education delivering ESL education and WorkForce Centers delivering digital literacy education. Minnesota’s Apprenticeship Initiative funded under DOL is yet another example of building capacity through leveraging our WorkForce Centers, the Department of Labor and Industry and industry leaders many whom serve on the local and state board. The six regional plans have all identified and continue to develop new partnerships to align and integrate resources outside of this plan.
Program and activity alignment with training opportunities, inclusive of Registered Apprenticeships, occurs through the activities of the local boards, business partnerships and special grant and funding opportunities. An example of maximizing opportunities is evidenced through a partnership established with the Red Lake Indian Reservation and a Native American owned manufacturing company where an individual has the opportunity to develop their skills through experiential learning leading to internship followed by registered apprenticeship. This demonstrates the alignment between education, workforce, apprenticeship, and the private sector while addressing our goals of closing the disparities gap within communities of color. The pursuit of the greater business engagement and customer—centered design strategies will broaden and strengthen the involvement of all training opportunities that lead to industry recognized credentials within pathways to family sustaining wages.
Program and activity alignment with education, including career and technical education, is achieved through local board activities and involvement with special projects. Career and technical education resources through the Carl D. Perkins have become a central part of developing Minnesota’s Career Pathway model. Staff from Minnesota also participated in the design of the Career Pathways Toolkit and in developing the language for Minnesota’s State Combined Plan around the six elements of a Career Pathways System. Through Minnesota’s employer-led sector partnerships several best practices have emerged with the development of strategies around youth and developing regional industry recognized credentials. While the sector partnerships are not all at the same level of maturity, they continue to deliver promising practices to “customize” the training needs of individuals while meeting the skills needed for employers.
Program and activity alignment with human service agencies outside the purview of WIOA is a critical element to career pathways success in serving communities of color, individuals with disabilities and disconnected youth. Human services efforts around housing, transportation and child care have been identified in regional listening sessions as critical to the success of local businesses. The provision of “navigators” within our career pathway efforts has demonstrated the importance of support services in ensuring successful completion of training programs.
The inclusion of activities and providers outside of the plan of WIOA will be critical to the career pathways system’s success. Minnesota’s state program administrators and representatives of the state and local boards meet monthly to identify opportunities to move from alignment to integration of services and programming. This partnership is committed to focusing their priorities on state level strategy and policy that support comprehensive involvement of these providers and to ensure our local boards coordinate to reduce duplication of effort.