FUNDAMENTAL WORKFORCE PARTNERSHIPS Industry Stakeholder Engagement Is Key To Building Connections With Local Workforce Boards
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n October 2019, the Northwest Oregon Works (NOW) Board of Directors and Consortium of Local Elected Officials voted to approve the addition of the Leisure and Hospitality industry to our regional targeted sector initiatives. NOW is the Local Workforce Development Board that serves Benton, Lincoln, Tillamook, Clatsop, and Columbia Counties. Besides NOW’s established relationship with the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA) and the Oregon Coast Visitors Association (OCVA) and within ORLA, the Oregon Hospitality Foundation, the Board and Consortium agreed that this industry could not be ignored. Little did they know that just five months later, the hospitality industry would be devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that Lincoln and Clatsop County would see the highest unemployment numbers in the state for many months consecutively. NOW has seen firsthand the importance of a healthy hospitality industry in promoting a diverse and vibrant regional economy. We are proud to be the first Local Workforce Board (LWB) to recognize Oregon’s hospitality industry as a major sector in our region. We are working with industry leaders and stakeholders to identify ways that we can close workforce gaps and assist in the important work of rebuilding the success, health, and vitality of our “vacation destination” superheroes. We are also proud to have Zach Poole, Vice President of Pig ‘N Pancake, serve on our board to help inform us on the work of the hospitality industry. Every May, ORLA assesses their member activity within each county. Below are the total number of foodservice and lodging locations in each of our five counties*: • Columbia, 111 • Lincoln, 406 • Clatsop, 228 • Benton, 233 • Tillamook, 182 * Data from May 2021. These numbers may have changed.
The identification of the Leisure and Hospitality industry as a targeted sector in NOW’s 5-county region sets in motion a series of resources that will benefit industry partners as well as the jobseeking workforce that they need to attract. Local Boards do not deliver direct services. Most services are delivered through or in partnership with the WorkSource Oregon system (WSO). NOW has six WSO centers located in our 5-county region including Corvallis, Newport, Lincoln City, Tillamook, Astoria, and St. Helens. Housed within those WSOs are various partners who work to connect job seekers and businesses. Other functions of the WSOs include outreach and intake, career coaching, linkages to wrap-around support services, training (to include earn-and-learn opportunities), placement, retention, and career advancement. It is through the WSO system that our service providers, Equus Workforce Solutions and Community Services Consortium, help jobseekers get connected to employment in the Leisure and Hospitality industry. For example, a jobseeker named Lydia came into a WSO seeking employment. She was a single mother with two small children and had not worked in a number of years. Through an individual assessment of her work experience, it was determined that she had been a food server years earlier, prior to having her kids. With the help of a workshop offered at the center, she was able to take a resume writing class to spruce up her resume. She was also able to get assistance with the required food and alcohol serving permits and was given a list of job openings close to her home. Lydia was successfully hired at a popular local brewery. For Leisure and Hospitality businesses across the state who are not located in NOW’s region, rest assured that you also have a Local Workforce Board and WSOs wherever you are. You have a Local Board that is doing their best to be responsive to the needs of businesses in their area, through the WSO system, regardless of their identified sectors.
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