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A Wisconsin community college is the winner of a highly competitive federal training grant for workers totaling nearly $2 million.

According to the U. S. Department of Labor, 69 institutions in 38 states were awarded $125 million in grants.

Northcentral Technical College was awarded $1,998,522 to implement programs to produce highly skilled workers for nearby employers in the advanced manufacturing industry.

The school is located in Wausau, Wisconsin, a city that has been affected in recent years by mass layoffs and plant closures and more are planned.

These grants are available due to the President’s Community Based Job Training Grants Initiative, which awards money to community colleges and training facilities in areas where industries need skilled workers. The program was established in 2005 and awarded 72 grants. The second round of awards in 2006 gave out 70 grants.

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A new West Virginia unemployment grant could go straight to the heart of the economic problems of some regions in the state. They’re the regions traditionally suffering from high jobless rates, and the grant that would give them the help they need is called “WIRED.”

“This regional economic development strategy,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao when she was announcing the second generation of the grants, “transcends political boundaries to better leverage a region’s assets to help workers succeed in the 21st century worldwide economy.”

Now the U.S. Labor Department has announced the third generation of the grants. They’re highly competitive. First, the governor of every state gets a letter from Secretary Chao announcing the competition. Then each governor may submit only two proposals. The grants may be for a maximum of $5 million each, and the regions competing must show where they’re receiving other sources of funding, so the Labor Department grant can complement those funds.

WIRED stands for the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development Initiative. Thanks to WIRED, the Labor Department has granted 26 regions around the U.S. a total of $260 million to create high-paying, highly-skilled jobs for U.S. workers in those regions where the economy has remained stagnant despite general growth. Some of the regions receiving WIRED grants are northern California, the Mississippi/Arkansas Delta northern Alabama, northern Indiana, and the Delaware Valley.

“The Third Generation of WIRED,” said Emily Stover DeRocco, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training, “is designed to position local Workforce Investment Boards as leaders of a strategic regional partnership.” She said that the grants could facilitate economic transformation in regions around the U.S. She said it involves talent development strategies and what she called “integration with regional development.” The result is a partnership that can “improve employment and advancement opportunities for workers.”

In announcing the earlier, second generation of grants, Secretary Chao also noted that “Investing in area workforces through this collaborative approach will boost entire regions’ economic vitality.”

The purpose of WIRED, as the name suggests, is to reward “innovative” solutions to regional joblessness.

West Virginia workers with disabilities should benefit from a new collaboration between the US Office of Disability Employment Policy and the Society of Human Resource Managers. By collaborating, these two agencies bring more attention to the problems of disabled workers. Working together, these organizations should help facilitate communication across federal agencies, promote research, and give disabled workers greater access to education, training, and resources.

The West Virginia Department of Labor will still provide benefits to West Virginia workers with disabilities, but this new collaboration will make more resources available to these workers. Disabled workers aren’t utilized in the workforce as well as they should be, even though the employment situation has improved over the past few years.

This partnership hopefully will improve this situation. By having a federal agency join forces with a large human resources organization, more attention and dialogue will be focused on educating, training, and hiring disabled workers.

The US Office of Disability Employment Policy, also know as ODEP, was formed in 2001. ODEP identifies resources and sets policy concerning disabled workers. ODEP is a separate agency from the US Department of Labor. Roy Grizzard, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, heads ODEP.

According to Grizzard, “This alliance formalizes the relationship we have had with SHRM, benefiting SHRM as it serves its membership with the resources ODEP brings to the table and offering ODEP the opportunity for broader contact with human resource professionals.”

The Society for Human Resource Managers, also known as SHRM, was formed in 1948. This organization provides necessary resources to human resource professionals. With 205,000 members in 550 chapters across 100 countries, this organization brings substantial resources to help workers with disabilities.

In addition to creating more opportunities for disabled workers, the collaboration between ODEP and SHRM should provide additional services, such as outreach, information, guidance, training, improved communications, and education. Disabled workers should find that this partnership between ODEP and SHRM creates more jobs and opportunities for them. 

Training and recruiting for West Virginia workers with disabilities should be enhanced thanks to a new alliance between the public and private sectors.

While disabled workers have seen more job opportunities come their way in recent years, they remain in many ways a vast field of uncultivated talent. The private-public partnership, between an agency of the U.S. Labor Department and the world’s largest association of human resource professionals, should change that, providing more jobs and preparing people with disabilities to be ready for the 21^st century labor market.

The job prospects have improved recently for disabled workers, according to ODEP. Yet they still represent a large talent base that is going unused by the labor market.

Thanks to this new partnership, West Virginia workers with disabilities will find more training, outreach, technical assistance, and education in their futures. Information, access to resources, and guidance should all be enhanced by the new teamup.

“This alliance formalizes the relationship we have had with SHRM,” according to Roy Grizzard, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, “benefiting SHRM as it serves its membership with the resources ODEP brings to the table and offering ODEP the opportunity for broader contact with human resource professionals.”

What are the two organizations involved, and what are their missions?

A wide range of resources is being brought together through the teamwork between the Labor Department and the human resources managers.  SHRM, founded in 1948, has more than 550 chapters, and counts members in more than 100 countries around the world. With its 205,000 members, it is the largest human resource professionals’ association in the world. ODEP is relatively new, dating back to 2001. Under Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao, authority was delegated and responsibility assigned to the assistant secretary for disability employment policy. It remains part of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Society of Human Resource Professionals (SHRM) was formed in 1948. With 205,000 members, 550 affiliated chapters, and membership in more than 100 countries, it is the world’s largest association of human resource managers. 

Here’s a new program fresh from the West Virginia Dept. of Labor that busy employers might want to consider.

The West Virginia W-2 for can now be delivered online, as a PDF file. This is a great option for busy employers. If you regularly communicate with your employees via email, this is the perfect choice for you. Other employers might find it useful for employees who telecommute, or who are in the IT industry.

Usually online forms are emailed to employees as an attachment in the PDF file format. However, several other options are available. Employers may choose to provide the PDF forms on a website. If so, the website must be secure, and the information must remain confidential. Employees are usually emailed a link to the site, plus a password to access only their own W-2.

If you decide to go with this option for the West Virginia W-2, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. The electronic form must contain all t he same information included on a traditional W-2 form. This includes total wages earned, deductions for FICA, and federal or state taxes withheld. Employees must also be provided with information on printing a duplicate W-2, if necessary.

Another item to consider before switching to the electronic West Virginia W-2 form: employee consent. Every employee must sign a consent form, agreeing to accept an electronic W-2 form. Employees may opt out at any time, and any employee who does so must be furnished with a traditional paper W-2. You cannot force all employees to accept the electronic W-2.

Despite the drawbacks, the electronic W-2 probably represents the wave of the future. It’s just one more way for employers to automate the payroll process. It’s too late to consider the electronic W-2 for this year, since 2007 W-2s were due to employees by January 31, but it’s a great time to start planning for next year.