JAHC's 2nd testing project: Minneapolis
one-stops still not providing access to job training

One year after the Jobs and Affordable Housing Campaign (JAHC) sent testers into four local one-stops, known as Workforce Centers, JAHC leaders decided it was time to check up on them again. This time 32 testers made 67 visits to three different Minneapolis one-stops.

The result? At two of the three one-stops, nothing had changed.

Similar to a testing project completed the previous year, no one obtained a job from his or her visit to the Workforce Center. And just like a year earlier, there was little information available to people about the services they should get under the Workforce Investment Act, and no one was offered job skill training in order for them to obtain employment.

The JAHC Jobs Committee was outraged at the lack of accountability of local one-stops and went into action at the Minneapolis Workforce Investment Board (WIB) meeting. At 7:30 a.m. on a early winter morning, JAHC leaders filed into the bank building in which the WIB was meeting, signed in at the security desk and outnumbered the WIB members in their meeting room two to one.

One by one, leaders shared their experiences at Workforce Centers and laid out their demands. JAHC leaders testified about the lack of information about services and training opportunities as well as the lack of translation available to Spanish or Somali-speaking people. Leaders also complained how they were pointed to a computer to find a job upon entering a Workforce Center. Young adults said even though they were out of school and needed full-time employment, they were told there was nothing for them until the summer youth employment program starts.

“I went to the WIB meeting as a youth representative to make sure they heard we have issues too.  We’re not being served.  At the meeting, we were serious about getting jobs and they didn’t want to hear us, but they had to listen.  You could tell they just wanted to get us out of there,” said JAHC leader, Jeremy Williams.

WIB members were defensive but assigned JAHC’s demands to the Adult Employment Committee and said they wanted to implement changes in their system per the organization’s request within three months.

After a follow up negotiating session with Chip Wells, the Minneapolis Director of Jobs and Training, and Caroline Robie, the Chair of the Adult Employment Committee, JAHC received commitments for the following changes to the one-stop system in Minneapolis to be implemented in the first three months of 2003.

• Written materials will be produced and handed out to all who enter the one-stops clearly stating what services and training opportunities are available through the Workforce Center system and at what location. The materials will be translated in all primary languages spoken in Minneapolis and will include telephone contacts for each language.
• A checklist of services and customer priority categories will be given to each person to fill out when they go to the one-stop. This will be used as a tool to quickly work with a job counselor and move people into a job or training track.
• A customer satisfaction survey will also be developed and given to people when they enter the one-stop and collected when they leave.
• All front line staff will have expanded job responsibilities that include matching the customer with the appropriate staff to get them needed services and training quickly and make referrals when appropriate. Frontline staff will receive training on their new responsibilities and will be required to know and understand the local workforce development system completely.

In addition to these commitments, the WIB Director has agreed to work with JAHC to fill one seat on the board and one seat on the Youth Council. Negotiations are continuing with the Adult Employment Committee and WIB to get at least one full-time recruiter of employers that pay a livable wage at each one-stop.

The previous year, JAHC went directly to the Minnesota Governor’s Workforce Development Commission to get statewide improvements to the workforce development system. They were successful in getting 100 staff trained on customer service, the temporary jobs separated from permanent job listings on the statewide computer system, and assisted in the creation of credentialing criteria that Workforce Centers will have to meet in order to be a one-stop.

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