Latest News
News Articles
Venture into Your Possible Career this May
May 6 2024As the old saying goes, April showers bring May…career awareness? While that may not be exactly how most remember that saying, May is certainly a time for young people and employers to convene and let their future educational and work aspirations “flower” into the realm of possibility!Specifically, May 9 is...
More than a month after the closures of two Hospital Sisters Health System hospitals, organizations are still working to assist employees laid off by the closures.One organization working to help those laid off by HSHS and Prevea is the West Central Workforce Development Board.The West Central Workforce Development Board, also...
Workforce Development Board hosts job fair
Feb 20 2024The West Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board is helping healthcare workers continue their careers in the Chippewa Valley.The department held a job fair today with more than 75 employers and organizations focused on healthcare and other in-demand occupations and skills.It’s the second job fair that the board has held since...
Workforce Board hosts job fair
Feb 20 2024The West Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board is helping healthcare workers continue their careers in the Chippewa Valley.The department held a job fair today with more than 75 employers and organizations focused on healthcare and other in-demand occupations and skills.It’s the second job fair that the board has held since...
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and the West Central Works Workforce Development Board are continuing efforts to assist workers impacted by recent healthcare industry announcements in the Eau Claire, Chippewa Valley, and surrounding regions.On Feb.7, DWD and the West Central workforce development board hosted a community job fair...
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and the West Central Works Workforce Development Board are continuing efforts to assist workers impacted by recent healthcare industry announcements in the Eau Claire, Chippewa Valley, and surrounding regions.On Feb.7, DWD and the West Central workforce development board hosted a community job fair...
Western Wisconsin health care systems are looking for ways to expand their capacity ahead of the closure of two area hospitals and a network of clinics.Hospital Sisters Health System’s Sacred Heart hospital in Eau Claire and HSHS St. Joseph’s hospital in Chippewa Falls will close on or before April 21,...
Gov. Tony Evers today, together with Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Amy Pechacek, Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Deputy Secretary Deb Standridge, Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) Commissioner Nathan Houdek, and other agency officials and staff, joined local leaders in Eau Claire to provide...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE EAU CLAIRE – Workers and other community members affected by recent healthcare industry announcements in the Eau Claire, Chippewa Valley, and surrounding regions can look to the support of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and the rapid response...
Two passenger rail ideas once left for dead — a Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter line and an Amtrak route from Milwaukee to Madison — are back on the study track.Should these and other proposals come to fruition, passenger trains could one day link eight of Wisconsin’s 10 largest cities to each other,...
Food courts evolve into bustling local markets
Jan 10 2024Food halls—where people can find a variety of food purveyors and gather for an informal meal on the fly—have been around since the 1980s. Traditionally, food courts have been fixtures at shopping malls or large transit hubs where shoppers or travelers can grab a quick bite from well-known food vendors...
24 for '24
Jan 8 2024You’re looking to establish a new location to serve the growing global need for software development and support services, but you want to avoid the places baseball legend Yogi Berra once described as only he could: “Aw, nobody ever goes there. It’s too crowded.” Josefien Glaudemans and the team at...
Sen. Duey Stroebel says he’s seeing bipartisan support for a bill that would provide $7.5 million in state matching funds for the Wisconsin BioHealth Tech Hub effort.The Saukville Republican and Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, recently sent a co-sponsorship memo to lawmakers on the proposal.The CHIPS and Science Act of...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reminds farmers, ranchers and forest landowners that January 13, 2024, is the deadline to apply for the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP). This program is made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided $2.2 billion in funding.Farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination...
State of the States 2024
Jan 8 2024Among the themes to emerge across the 50 state legislatures and governor’s offices over the past year is how to attract funding from a family of major federal programs toting hundreds of billions of dollars in funds. The various challenges and grants follow closely behind Recovery Act funds for which...
Our state’s economy is rocketing forward. More people are working here than ever before. Exports from our farms and factories continue to rise as global demand grows for Made In Wisconsin products. Our per capita income growth is outpacing the national average. And we’ve seen record numbers of filings to...
As part of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's (DWD) continued efforts to modernize its Unemployment Insurance services, the agency is launching a project to upgrade the Unemployment Insurance employer portal while also progressing with work on new tools to calculate benefits for claimants."The new employer portal will offer significant...
The site selection process often includes 18+ months of a national search with dozens of employer interviews and meetings with economic developers, workforce development groups, and higher education institutions. While sophisticated site selection consultants perform due diligence to ensure their client’s immediate workforce needs are met, the process often emphasizes...
Insights on Staffing and the Location Decision
Dec 18 2023When selecting a new site, companies today confront an ever-changing landscape of factors to consider, from site and facility planning to workforce analytics and training. Christine Chandler, president of AdvantaStaff, and Lovora Brown, AdvantaStaff’s director of Operations, who bring a combined 50 years’ experience in the manufacturing and distribution industry,...
Shelter assistance is an area of desperate need for justice-impacted individuals as they seek to reenter communities throughout the country. In Wisconsin, the growing impact of the opioid crisis is worsening an already difficult situation. In its efforts to improve the quality and equity of the workforce in the state,...
Wisconsin Doesn’t Take Your Work for ‘Granted’
Nov 27 2023West Central Works helps employers and workers navigate grant process There is approximately $6 million in federal grant funding available to assist Wisconsin employers and employees to work at full capacity. Navigating these grant funds and government programs is often daunting, but West Central Works (WCW) is available to simplify the...
Companies have a long list of factors to consider before building a new facility or expanding operations. How much available land is there? Are there utilities nearby to power the site? What’s the closest interstate and port to move our goods? But as unemployment rates have steadily dropped in the...
MADISON – The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today released the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showing Wisconsin's unemployment rate was 3.2% last month, up slightly from 3.1% in September and 0.7% below the national rate of 3.9% in October. The state's total labor force participation rate held...
WEDC grants support innovation, entrepreneurs
Nov 16 2023A special round of Entrepreneurship Partner Grants (EPG) will be available to groups supporting Wisconsin entrepreneurs working in biotechnology, personalized medicine and biohealth. The grants are part of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s (WEDC’s) commitment to the state’s Regional Tech Hub designation.“Wisconsin’s designation as a Regional Tech Hub is recognition...