Narrative: e. 2. D.

Outreach staff will gain extensive knowledge of farm work in order to ensure high levels of awareness and sensitivity to the socio–economic and cultural nuances that exists within the agricultural communities. The SMA is bilingual (English/Spanish) which remains representative of the farm worker population in the Maine’s service delivery areas though there is an increase of Haitian speaking migrant crews finding work here

Requested Revisions; Many years ago, Title I, II, III and IV staff were trained across the state to provide outreach and employer needs assessments and to package resources of both the WIA services and to make specific referrals to non-workforce related services as necessary. Over time, key staff has retired and administrations and local areas have changed resulting in the need to take a new look at staff development priorities. The following is the vision for Employer Outreach Specialists for our system: • Staff is aware of and understands industries and employers in the local area –is informed and can talk about their goods and services, know their challenges and opportunities, how they recruit, and what education and training is needed to fill their jobs. • Businesses know the services available through the one-stop system and how to contact a system business representative regarding their immediate AND longer-term workforce development needs. • System partners including local staff, LWDBs, and MDOL Program Managers are packaging each other’s services in a seamless way. o OJT services often packaged with Apprenticeship, when appropriate for both the job seeker and employer o Training opportunities for multiple openings are often funded by multiple funding sources (WIOA, grants, CSSP, apprenticeship, Quality Center Funds, DECD funds, etc.). o Recruitment activities include Maine JobLink postings so Veteran’s get priority and openings are made available to all populations. o As a part of the overall outreach strategy, include activities to engage veterans, individuals with disabilities, new Mainers, adult learners, and other populations as part of the norm when filling job/training opportunities o Hard to fill positions are topics of discussion with business reps from all partners – common brainstorms/problem solving. o Education partners are at the table to hear challenges and develop educational/training responses to support businesses. • System partners share responsibility for responding to businesses within 48 hours of receiving a referral, providing outstanding customer service, and achieving positive outcomes for each other’s efforts. Expectations of Business Relations Representatives include the ability to provide a customer-centric approach: • Build strong relationships with businesses – get to know them. • Ask many questions and listen rather than sell programs. • Focus on needs of employers rather than our programs or open slots. • Strive for best service to business regardless of whose program best meets needs. • Learn and stay current with partner programs, grants, and offerings. • Communicate with partners – Develop strong and consistent communications with each other – talk about plans for business outreach, what you are hearing, who you’ve talked to, etc. • Collaboratively build response to business needs by integrating/packaging services. • Trust each other – be trustworthy. Outreach to Job Seekers –Wagner Peyser staff act as the initial interface with most job seeker participants entering the system, they conduct initial triage and provide resource navigation and referral services so it is imperative that they have the skills necessary to do this in a customer-centric way and in accordance with Section 188 and the requirements identified in the Local Area MOUs regarding referrals and access to system partner services. In addition, staff needs to be trained to effectively relay all of the required information such as that listed under Basic Career Services. To ensure all staff is adequately trained and have the professional skills necessary to provide services in this way a state-level professional development team was formed to evaluate WIOA-related staff development needs and identify and access resources to accomplish staff development goals identified. The professional development team has been meeting for several months now. Staff members have been polled regarding what they perceive they need for professional development and WIOA related training and managers have also identified specific WIOA required knowledge. The following immediate training needs for Wagner Peyser staff some of which have already been addressed: • WIOA intake & eligibility • Confidentiality & Personally Identifiable Information • Partner Services • Accessibility Basics (Policies, Final Regulations, both individuals with disabilities and other languages/cultures) • Resources • Use of new outreach technology • Basic Career Services • Standardized initial assessment process • Standardized referral process • Understanding customer flow for integrated service delivery • Equal Opportunity and Non-discrimination • LMI for job seekers • LMI for employers • NTO Basics • Apprenticeship Basics • Adult Education Basics • VR Basics • ETPL for workforce professionals Continued development on: • O*NET & other online career guidance resources • Professional Certifications for workforce professionals such as: o Appreciative Advising o Economic Development o Workforce Development o Program Evaluation o Project Management o Accessibility Certification o Conflict Resolution o Ethical Communications o Understanding the Culture of Poverty o E-Learning made easy o Professional Writing o And more.