WHAT IS:
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
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Workforce Development is a collective approach to economic development that sees the future of our community's economic stability and prosperity resides in people. COMPACT brings employers, educators, trainers, not-for-profits, local leaders, and industry leaders together to develop and support the current and future workforce in McLean county through the collective impact of their investments, knowledge, and time.
COMPACT champions the region's educational and training institutions, resources, and programs that enables Bloomington-Normal's existing and future employers to cultivate, retain, and attract the talent that they need.
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COMPACT Bids Farewell to Bob Miller
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After years of service as the Chairman of the McLean County Chamber Board and the Chairman of the COMPACT Board, Bob Miller, V.P. for Operations at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, announced his resignation to accept a position as
the president of two hospitals and a clinic in Wisconsin as part of Advocate Aurora Health.
"Bob Miller has been an inspiring leader for the Chamber and our members. Following his term serving as the Chairman of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, he graciously served as the Chairman of the BN Advantage Workforce Development efforts. Bob’s leadership style is inclusive and his tenacity for achievement and dedication to accomplishment is unsurpassable. I want to publically thank Bob for his service, leadership and commitment to our community and wish him well in his new venture. He will most certainly be missed."
-Charlie Moore, President and CEO, McLean County Chamber of Commerce
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COMPACT Stories:
An Impact on the Community
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COMPACT & Heartland Partner to Develop Employability Skills Training
Employer needs for a work ready talent pipeline was made evident from the results of the
McLean County Employer Needs Survey commissioned in 2015. The survey collected data from over 140 local businesses and asked them to indicate their employee skill needs. Overwhelmingly, the responses indicated a need for a workforce that possessed the "soft skills" required to be successful in the modern work environment.
To help solve this problem, COMPACT has partnered with Heartland Community College, and is supported by a grant through Illinois State University, to develop an Essential Employability Skills Training Program that focuses on providing a readily available training curriculum that employers can use to develop their employer skills. The program aligns our unique employer needs with the Illinois Essential Employability Skills Framework developed by the Illinois Community College Board to provide a flexible program that answers regional employer needs.
COMPACT is establishing a task force to build the strategies and marketing to get the program to employers. For more information on the task force and the Essential Employability Skills Training, contact
Andy Bender, the Manager for Workforce Development.
For more stories about workforce and talent development in visit
COMPACT News.
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Bridgestone Invests and Grows
Its exciting news when one of the BN's largest employers decides to invest in the future of the community. The large investment of $12M and the creation of up top 30 new positions is a great success for BN and for Bridgestone. This shows the quality of the talent resident in McLean County and the willingness of employers to invest in our region. Read the complete article here:
Bridgestone
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Chamber Opens Nominations for Awards
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The Chamber is proud to announce that nominations are being accepted for the 2018 Leaders of Distinction Awards. These awards feature the McLean ATHENA Leadership Award and the Pantagraph's Twenty Under Forty. The Leaders of Distinction Reception to honor the award recipients will be held at the Bloomington-Normal Marriott and Normal Theater on Wednesday, October 10.
Ticket details and event registration will be made available in August. For more information about this event, including sponsorship, nominations and event details, please visit the
Chamber’s website HERE or contact Traci Andracke at 309-829-1183 or
traci@mcleancochamber.org
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Heartland Physical Therapy Assistant students post perfect certification pass rate
NORMAL, IL, July, 2018 – The Physical Therapy Assistant program at Heartland Community College is celebrating a perfect success rate of students passing the national certification exam.
For the second year in a row the Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) program has posted an impressive 100 percent first time national exam pass rate.
“We continue to see tremendous success for this young program,” said Daryl Menke, Physical Therapy Assistant program coordinator and instructor. “Taking the national examination is a requirement to becoming licensed, and all of our students passed on the first attempt. This exceeded the national rate of around 87 percent of students who pass the national examination on the first attempt.”
The certification test was administered to spring graduates on July 10. The results of the test were released this week.
As the second cohort of students to graduate from the PTA program and head to the workforce, they can look to the impressive placement rate of last year’s graduates. All of the Spring 2017 graduating class of PTA students seeking a job in the field found employment.
Menke said that the job picture for this year’s cohort is also bright.
“Four of our students have already accepted positions before the exam results were announced,” Menke said. “Now that the cohort has passed the national examination the students will turn their energies toward employment. The prospects are great for this group and the jobs are out there.”
Heartland’s Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) program became fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) on April 26, 2017.
In order to become a licensed PTA, students must graduate from an accredited program to become eligible to sit for the national licensure exam. Both the 2017 and 2018 cohorts posted a 100 graduation rate as well as passing the certification exam.
About the PTA program
A PTA provides physical therapy treatments under the direction and supervision of a licensed physical therapist to help people recover from injuries, illnesses and surgeries.
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The University of Illinois Extension Builds Student Exposure to Trades
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The University of Illinois is recruiting volunteers to expand their Trades Clubs Program. The program is designed to ignite and foster students interest in the trades and providing them access to mentors and opportunities to explore these exciting career opportunities. Emily Saddler, Director for STEAM at the extension, noted the success of the current club, Circuit
Breakers, a
Special Interest (SPIN) 4-H club that met eight times last winter and worked with youth ages 10-16 to teach them about electricity and a career in the trades. The club met once every two weeks at the BNJATC shop to learn about Ohm’s Law, reading blueprints, shop safety and other skills necessary for this line of work. See our
short video
that highlights the club.
For information on how to support, sponsor, or to get involved, please contact
Emily Saddler
via email or at (309) 663-8306.
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McLean County History Museum Features the History of Work
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Mark your calendars today for the Saturday, September 8 opening of our newest permanent exhibit
Challenges, Choices & Change: Working for a Living
. A ribbon cutting will be held at 1 p.m. followed at 2 p.m. by a presentation by exhibit co-curator Mike Matejka. Refreshments and special activities will follow.
Working for a Living is the fourth of five new permanent exhibit galleries created using funds from the Museum’s recently completed Capital Campaign. The final exhibit, which will replace the Politics gallery, is scheduled to open fall 2019.
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LEAP Hosts Business In Service Forum
Business In-Service Forum is a FREE event hosted by the Illinois WorkNet Center’s Local Employer Assistance Partnership (LEAP). The Business In-Service Forum is your opportunity as an employer to meet with representatives from local, regional, state and federal agencies about workforce solutions. Join us to learn about the programs and initiatives that support employers and how you can take advantage of what is offered.
Special Guest Speakers
- Career Link
- Heartland Community College
- Illinois Department of Employment Security
- Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services
- Illinois Department of Commerce
- McLean County Chamber of Commerce
- YouthBuild of McLean County
Business In-Service Forum will be on Wednesday, August 29, 2018 event will start at 8:00 a.m. and end at 10:00 a.m. the location of the event will be at McLean County YouthBuild 360 Wylie Dr. Suite 305, Normal, IL.
Pre-registration is required to accommodate materials. To register or learn more about the event, email Dona Nanney at
dnanney@careerlink16.com
. RSVP by Friday August 17, 2018.
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Want to share your success stories in workforce development? Contact
Andy to learn how to get your story featured in the COMPACT newsletter.
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COMPACT Committee Information
To join or for more information about COMPACT Committees contact
Andy Bender.
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A primary goal of BNSTEM.org is to expand the STEM opportunities provided to McLean County students by connecting students and teachers to industry experts who are passionate about their field and passionate about educating students. To date, BNSTEM.org has partnered with many organizations and individuals who engage our students through innovative and dynamic STEM programming. BNSTEM has compiled a list of supporters who are willing to devote their time and expertise to build students' interest in STEM activities.
To see the list of supporters and find out how you can join the growing team of supporters, visit
BNSTEM.org.
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The COMPACT Employer Engagement Committee is establishing an Essential Employability Skills Task Force to prepare for the deployment of the training program being designed by Heartland Community College.
Objectives of the Task Force include:
- Creating a deployment model to get the training to employers.
- Implementation of the marketing plan across all media; to include creating content, creating a web presence, and social media.
- Developing the support system that enables employers to sustain the skills developed from the training.
To get connected to COMPACT and learn about other exciting opportunities to make an impact on the community click here:
Get Involved!
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Program Development & Alignment
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The PD&A Committee presented their work to members of the 60x25 Network, high lighting the progress of this dynamic partnership. Lynne Haeffele and Kathy Nicholson-Tosh showcased the planning and analysis that is the foundation for efforts in creating meaningful and relevant career pathways in McLean County Schools. The key point of the presentation was showing how leaders from Unit 5, District 87, the BACC, and HCC have all come together to share ideas and resources that can provide greater opportunity to all of the students in McLean County. Kathy Nicholson-Tosh was quick to point out that for the initiatives to succeed, it must include all of the McLean County schools and represent all of our districts, so the next steps include getting everyone to the table to build the communication conduits that enable sharing and mutual support.
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Program Evaluation & Process Improvement
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The Program Evaluation and Process Improvement has been working on updating the COMPACT Logic Models to ensure that our efforts remain aligned with the goals outlined in BN Advantage and the 2018 Program of Work that was approved by the COMPACT Board this spring. The logic models are important to synchronizing the work of the various committees and partners to eliminate duplication of effort, protect vital resources, and to guide our teams to reaching our desired end state.
Over the course of the next few months the committee will assist other committees and our partners in updating their logic models and aligning our work to. To learn more about the logic models and how they fit, please use the link below. For more information on how logic models can help your organization, contact your Workforce Development Manager at
andy@mcleancochamber.org.
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Community Workforce Events
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LEAP Business In Service Forum
Friday, August 17, 8:00 - 10:00 AM
McLean County Youth Build | 360 Wylie Dr. Suite 305, Normal, IL 61761
Part-Time Job Fair
Tuesday, September 4, 3:00 - 6:00 PM
Bone Student Center
Working for a Living: Grand Opening
Saturday, September 8
McLean County Museum of History | 200 N. Main St, Bloomington, Illinois 61701
2018 College & Career Conference
Saturday, September 15, 8:45 AM - 3:00 PM
ISU Alumni Center | 1101 North Main St, Normal, Illinois 61761
Working for Workforce
Tuesday, September 18, 7:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Heartland Community College - Astroth Career Education Center | 1500 West Raab Road
Normal, Illinois 61761
To get your event added contact
Andy Bender
for assistance.
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Looking to add someone to our mailing list?
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Name | Company | Phone | Fax | Email | Website
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