Humboldt County Grand Jury
• 2016-2017
Should the Workforce Development Board Update Its Resume?
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 6 findings
F1
Some broad measures of changes in total employment figures for Humboldt County are used to claim overall effectiveness for WDB programs, but these are not directly correlated to specific programs, and many details of the outcomes are not available to the public. The CalJOBS database is inaccessible to all but program administrators.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends that Workforce Development Board increase its effectiveness by focusing on targeted employment needs and opportunities, and broaden program descriptions to include clearly defined skill levels. (F1, F2, F3)
F2
WDB does not record end-client experiences, including results of job searches or number of jobs filled. For Job Center clients, reports are made directly to the state CalJOBS database.
Related Recommendations (2)
R1
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends that Workforce Development Board increase its effectiveness by focusing on targeted employment needs and opportunities, and broaden program descriptions to include clearly defined skill levels. (F1, F2, F3)
R2
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Workforce Development Board review all programs for the level of detail needed to produce useful outcomes for the job seekers expected to attend. (F2, F3)
F3
Neither WDB nor its service partners survey former class or workshop participants, beneficiaries of counseling and/or job fair participants, to measure satisfaction or perceived help in their job search.
Related Recommendations (4)
R1
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends that Workforce Development Board increase its effectiveness by focusing on targeted employment needs and opportunities, and broaden program descriptions to include clearly defined skill levels. (F1, F2, F3)
R2
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Workforce Development Board review all programs for the level of detail needed to produce useful outcomes for the job seekers expected to attend. (F2, F3)
R3
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Workforce Development Board monitor outcomes of all programs for quality and attendee satisfaction. (F3) 35
R4
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Workforce Development Board publish outcomes and user ratings, making them easily available to potential attendees. (F3, F4)
F4
The number and variety of WDB activities that require detailed reporting to California EDD indicates a large proportion of a small staff’s time required for reporting rather than on service planning and delivery.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Workforce Development Board publish outcomes and user ratings, making them easily available to potential attendees. (F3, F4)
F5
WDB’s engagement in WIOA’s directive for increasing collaboration, convening, and partnership is compromised by a lack of transparency and communication.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends that Workforce Development Program use the Slingshot program as a model for targeted programs to serve specialized critical County needs, e.g., skilled trades workers, medical and mental health specialists, foster care providers, child care providers, home health workers, construction workers, city planners, law enforcement workers, etc. (F5)
F6
The Slingshot program is designed to leverage a relatively small grant to achieve outsized results via collaboration and shared resources. Its construction is a model for involving many stakeholders in design and planning, as well as in emphasizing and communicating results.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Workforce Development Board reach modern job seekers and job providers via social media (such as LinkedIn and Instagram) to publicize success stories, promote Job Market services and to promote specific jobs and situations of direct interest in the County. (F6)