The Greater Omaha Chamber, area businesses and civic leaders, are attempting to create an effective model for Omaha's workforce needs. The Omaha Workforce Collaborative, launched in January 2009, is a unique effort which is attempting to break the cycle of poverty by matching individuals to unfilled jobs. It is an initiative that uses a dual customer approach to move low-income, low-skilled workers into family sustaining employment while helping employers fill critical workforce shortages.
This is achieved through the formation of strategic partnerships aimed at making the delivery of a qualified, capable, workforce to employers willing to pay living wages and provide benefits, more efficient. These partnerships include community based organizations, educational institutions, employers and foundations. Omaha Workforce Collaborative identifies specific employment opportunities and tailors the training to meet them.
For further information about the program click on the information below or contact Omaha Workforce Collaborative Executive Director, Othello Meadows at (402) 978-7938.
Governance Structure
National Fund for Workforce Solutions
Omaha Workforce Collaborative Partners
Greater Omaha Chamber
Metropolitan Community College
United Way of the Midlands
Tri-County Workforce Investment
Omaha Workforce Collaborative Employer Programs| Customer Service | The Collaborative's pilot program, formed in conjunction with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska and Mutual of Omaha, was designed to address critical workforce shortages in these companies' customer service departments and the skill deficiencies that many willing and dedicated potential employees exhibit. The program was a cooperative effort between the Collaborative and the aforementioned employers, Metropolitan Community College and Goodwill Industries. The program participants took part in a five and a half month degree-conferring series of courses and training designed jointly by Metropolitan Community College, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Mutual of Omaha. Goodwill provided coaching and support services that addressed the development of critical workplace skills. The combination of this training and support coupled with the dedication and will-power of the job seekers produced a partnership that is meeting the needs of both the employers and the new graduates. This "dual customer" approach is one that we hope to replicate often with ever increasing efficiency.
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| Ophthalmic Assistant | Home to two major medical schools, Omaha has become a regional center for eye care. Midwest Eye Care, P.C. and UNMC Eye Physicians, Inc., two local eye care offices, were used to hiring inexperienced new-comers to the field, training them as Ophthalmic Assistants and crossing their fingers in hopes that they would work out in the long run. Tired of trying to guess who would make a good Ophthalmic Assistant these two offices came to the Greater Omaha Chamber for help developing a source of pre-trained candidates. The Chamber brought together Midwest Eye Care, UNMC Eye Physicians, and Metropolitan Community College to develop a 10 week program including 8 weeks of classroom work and 2 weeks of internships. Not only did the participating employers help develop the curriculum, classes will be held onsite after regular office hours, and the instructor will be a medical staff manager from one of the offices. After their internships, all students will have the opportunity to interview for full-time positions. With six months experience, the new Ophthalmic Assistants will be eligible to test for their Ophthalmic Assistant Certification. Fifty percent of the cost of the training program will be covered by a customized job training grant from the Tri-County Workforce Investment Board.
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| Pre-Trades/Welding | With a generation of manufacturing workers preparing to retire, and a growing need for skilled workers, the Greater Omaha Chamber approached local manufacturers to help develop a welder training program.The Chamber's goal is to help develop a training program that will deliver qualified, prepared candidates while providing those candidates with a living wage and an identifiable career path. The ten week training program will teach technical welding processes specific to the participating business' needs as well as basic measuring, print reading, rigging and shop safety. By equipping potential employees with specific skills and experience before they are hired, employers get an employee with a much lower learning curve. These same employees have a much greater chance of getting and maintaining a quality job as a result of the course. In the end, we hope to reduce training time and expense to the employer by delivering a better equipped more prepared welder. |