WeCAN Works Presentation
Monday, December 14, 2009
1
BACKGROUND
2
Microsoft and City of Houston Public-Private Partnership
•
The partnership originated through request from Mayor Bill White to
partner with Microsoft around the City’s digital inclusion and education
Initiatives (Expectation Graduation).
•
The result of that request is a public-private partnership, announced
officially in July 2008 (Microsoft Worldwide Partnership Conference),
which encompasses Microsoft’s support of the following: 1) The
development of a Citywide Resource Portal ($30K), and 2) An
Unlimited Potential (UP) multi-year grant award of $4.5M ($200K cash;
$4.3M Software) in support of the April 2009 launch of WeCAN Works,
the workforce capacity training solution for WeCAN.

The UP grant award is the largest software grant awarded by Microsoft
and the City of Houston was only 1 of 3 awardees for the 2009 fiscal
year. The UP grant award:
1) Enables the ability to more quickly and aggressively rollout
WeCAN Works;
2) Creates more awareness and participation among existing
service agencies; and as result,
3) Increases the overall number of people and organizations that will
benefit from WeCAN and WeCAN Works.
•
Microsoft shares in our goal to equip underserved individuals with the
IT skills necessary to enter the workforce and through the grant is
enabling more than 160,000 Houstonians to be impacted over the two
year period and works towards establishing WeCAN Works as a
workforce readiness model for other cities to emulate.
2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
3
WeCAN Works is the mobilization of an entire city
to acquire workforce skills and work. As the
workforce capacity building training solution of
WeCAN, WeCAN Works will train and prepare
Houston’s underserved, unemployed and unskilled
populations for work.
•
•
The initiative includes core offerings of digital literacy training, job
readiness training, internships, career counseling, job referral, and job
placement, leveraging the established city and community network of
over 400 training and community technology centers citywide.
The initiative targets students at risk of dropping out of school and
Houston’s population of approximately 180,000 youth and adults who
are unemployed and the over 300,000 adults without a GED or High
school Diploma.
•
The initiative works through strategic partnerships with experts and
leaders in the field of education and workforce development, which
include Microsoft, Houston Independent School District, Houston
Community College, WorkForce Solutions and Greater Houston
Partnership.
•
Promotion and awareness, registration and training opportunities will
be made available through the Citywide Community Resource Portal
and the HPL Mobile Express “workforce mobile”.
TRACK I Goal Statement
Target, place and train, at-risk high
school students to prepare them to enter
workforce in a high demand, high growth
field.
TRACK II Goal Statement
Target drop outs and unemployed
individuals and prepare them to take
the GED test, obtain career counseling
and to get a job.
TRACK III Goal Statement
Provide workforce skills training to
underserved and unskilled
population at large.
3
4
Track I End User Education & Employment Opportunities
High
High
School
School
Diploma
Diploma
Employment Opportunities
Accredited
Accredited
Credential
Credential
inin
English/Language
English/Language
Arts,
Arts,
Reading;
Reading;
Mathematics;
Mathematics;
Science;
Science;
Social
Social
Studies
Studies
and
and
Other
Other
Coursework
Coursework
Fast Food
Retail Services
Cashier
$6.55-$8.94/ hr
Employment Opportunities
WeCAN Works
Career & Technical
Education Instructor-led
academic and technical
training and certification
36 weeks
4 days/week
2+ hrs/session
320 hours
Help Desk
PC Install/Repair
Technical Service/Sales
Dispatch/Call Management
$12.15–$17.79/ hr
Employment Opportunities
WORKFORCE READINESS
TRAINING
Personal and Professional
Development & Counseling/
Focus on Jobs Skills Training
Post Secondary
Education
Two or four year career
path
Web Developer
Technical Support
Network Administration
Database Development
$18+/hr
4
5
Track I End User Workforce Skills Training Path
Post Graduation
Job or Higher Education
Immediate Employment or Two or Four Year Career Track
Workforce Readiness Training
Personal and Professional Development & Counseling/ Focus
on Jobs Skills Training
36 weeks 4 days/week 2+ hrs/session 320 hours
IT Apprenticeship
Hands-on jobs-skills training in a high demand high growth fields
36 weeks 4 days/week 2+ hrs/session 320 hours
Career & Technical Education
Career & Technical Education Instructor-led academic and technical training and certification
48 weeks 5days/week 7hrs/session 1,680 hours
5
Track II End User Education & Employment Opportunities
WeCAN Works
General Educational
Development
Coursework &
Certification
12 weeks
4 days/week
3 hours/sessions
144 hours
6
Employment Opportunities
Fast Food
Retail Services
Cashier
$6.55-$8.94/ hr
WeCAN Works
Digital Literacy &
Workforce Readiness
Skills Training
6 weeks
1+ days/week
3 hrs/sessions
18+ hours
Employment Opportunities
Office Clerical
Customer Service
Call Center
$10.29–$12.48/hr
Employment Opportunities
Advanced Level
Training
Technical or vocational
training and certification
path
Help Desk
PC Install/Repair
Technical Service/Sales
Dispatch/Call Management
$13.90–$17.79/ hr
6
7
Track II End User Workforce Skills Training Path
Job Placement
Job or Continuing
Education
Immediate Employment or Advanced Level Vocational
Training
Workforce Readiness Training
Personal and Professional Development & Counseling/ Focus
on Jobs Skills Training
1 week 2 days/week 2+ hrs/session 4 hours
Digital Literacy Training
Fundamentals of basic computing and Internet
5 weeks 1 days/week 3 hrs/session 15 hours
General Education Development Coursework & Certification
Preparation Classes in Language Arts, Writing; Language Arts, Reading; Mathematics;
Science; Social Studies
12 weeks 4days/week 5hrs/session 240 hours
7
8
Track III End User Education & Employment Opportunities
WeCAN Works
Digital Literacy &
Workforce Readiness
Skills Training
6 weeks
1+days/week
3 hrs/session
18+ hours
Employment Opportunities
Office Clerical
Customer Service
Call Center
$10.29–$12.48/hr
Advanced Level
Training
Technical or vocational
training and certification
path
Employment Opportunities
Help Desk
PC Install/Repair
Technical Service/Sales
Dispatch/Call Management
$13.90–$17.79/ hr
8
9
Track III End User Workforce Skills Training Path
Post Training Path
Advanced Level Training
Technical and vocational certification
Workforce Readiness Training
Personal and Professional Development & Counseling
Focus on Jobs Skills Training
1 week 2 days 2 hrs/sessions 4 hours
Digital Literacy Training
Fundamentals of basic computing and Internet
5 weeks 1 day/week 3 hrs/sessions 15 hours
9
A NECESSARY INITIATIVE…
10
WeCAN Works is the mobilization of an entire city to acquire workforce skills and work. As
the workforce capacity building training solution of WeCAN, WeCAN Works will train
and prepare Houston’s underserved, unemployed and unskilled populations for work.
10
PREPARING OUR CURRENT & FUTURE WORKFORCE
11
TRACK I Goal Statement
Target, place and train, at-risk high
school students to prepare them to enter
workforce in a high demand, high growth
field.
WeCAN Works is the mobilization of an entire city to acquire workforce skills and work. As
the workforce capacity building training solution of WeCAN, WeCAN Works will train
and prepare Houston’s underserved, unemployed and unskilled populations for work.
11
PREPARING OUR CURRENT & FUTURE WORKFORCE
12
TRACK II Goal Statement
Target drop outs and unemployed
individuals and prepare them to take
the GED test, obtain career counseling
and to get a job.
WeCAN Works is the mobilization of an entire city to acquire workforce skills and work. As
the workforce capacity building training solution of WeCAN, WeCAN Works will train
and prepare Houston’s underserved, unemployed and unskilled populations for work.
12
PREPARING OUR CURRENT & FUTURE WORKFORCE
13
TRACK III Goal Statement
Provide workforce skills training to
underserved and unskilled
population at large.
WeCAN Works is the mobilization of an entire city to acquire workforce skills and work. As
the workforce capacity building training solution of WeCAN, WeCAN Works will train
and prepare Houston’s underserved, unemployed and unskilled populations for work.
13
BENEFITS TO THE PARTICIPANTS….
14
WeCAN Works is the mobilization of an entire city to acquire workforce skills and work. As
the workforce capacity building training solution of WeCAN, WeCAN Works will train
and prepare Houston’s underserved, unemployed and unskilled populations for work.
14
IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY ….
15
WeCAN Works is the mobilization of an entire city to acquire workforce skills and work. As
the workforce capacity building training solution of WeCAN, WeCAN Works will train
and prepare Houston’s underserved, unemployed and unskilled populations for work.
15
MILESTONES, ACCOMPLISHMENTS & NEXT STEPS
16
Track I
•
Identified and placed WeCAN Works CTE students for participation in Fall
apprenticeship/job placement opportunities in public and private entities across the city.
(October 2009)
o
Secured summer job placement for WeCAN Works CTE students as a precursor
to Fall apprenticeship/job placements (June 2009)
•
Launched workforce preparedness job seminars for (CTE) participants and will launch
training for parents in January 2010; Coordinating digital literacy training opportunities for
parents to launch in January 2010.
Track II
•
Launched ABE/GED preparatory classes at 7 targeted HPL/WeCAN sites citywide and preparing for continued expansion in January 2010.
Track III
•
Adopted and integrated Microsoft digital literacy curriculum as standard curriculum for
use by Houston Public Library system; Began use of Microsoft digital literacy and
Unlimited Potential curriculum for all digital literacy training classes system wide.
•
Gearing up for phased rollout of expanded Microsoft Digital Literacy training sessions
across the HPL system.
•
Launched over 2000 workforce job skills seminars across the city.
Software Distribution
•
Began phased implementation of distribution and installation of software to 100 HPL,
WeCAN and partner sites citywide.
Portal
•
Launched pilot of Citywide Community Resource Portal (April 2009)
These efforts have yielded impact to more than 100,000 underserved,
unemployed and unskilled Houstonians!!!
16