South Central Workforce Investment Area
PA CareerLink Newsletter
November 9, 2006
Issue # 55
This is the bi-weekly newsletter of the South Central Workforce Investment Board
Stephen F. Peters, Chairman
Robert G. Garraty, Ph.D., Executive Director
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please contact Megan Fitzgerald at mfitzgerald@wibpa.org.
PA CareerLink/WIB News
• WIB Staff Update: Megan Fitzgerald, QA Coordinator for Special Projects has resigned her position at the
SCWIB effective November 10 to accept another position closer to home. Plans are currently being made to allow
Megan to continue in the development and disbursement of the PA CareerLink e-Newsletter. All efforts will be
made to ensure that the bi-weekly newsletter will continue to be distributed without interruption.
The position of QA Coordinator for Special Projects has been posted and is available at www.wibpa.org. For more
information, please contact Joe Alsberry, Director of Quality Assurance/Operations at jalsberry@wibpa.org.
Note from Megan: I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone that I have worked with over the past
four and a half years. I have met many great people, made many great friends, and learned quite a bit about the
workforce in PA and the professionals behind it. I will always appreciate my time on the WIB staff and will never
forget the things that I have learned. Take care of yourselves and God Bless. –Megan
• Meeting with Juniata County Commissioners: On October 31, 2006 Dr. Garraty and Ms. Michelle Lauver
addressed the Juniata County Commissioners in order to provide them with information on the direction of
workforce development services in their county. He discussed the affects of current National and State funding
issues, the affects of the Welfare RFP funding decisions and the State’s goal to decrease the overall number of
official CareerLinks. He provided information on the Operator Consortium’s subcommittee exploring the Juniata
and Perry CareerLink situation. It was pointed out that all existing partners wanted to continue to provide the same
services out of the same building in Juniata County, but at reduced levels. He assured the Commissioners that there
would be continued service in the County. Commissioner O’Neil requested that the WIB-LEO agreement be
modified to include language to that effect and Dr. Garraty assured her that that issue will be accomplished at
upcoming WIB committee meetings and the Local Elected Officials meeting. It was also discussed that the
implementation date and service levels are still being worked out. A press release will be forthcoming alerting the
public as to the changes. Questions can be referred to Dr. Garraty
• Local Plan Update: The SCWIB Local Plan for PY 2006 has been approved by the Bureau of Workforce
Development Partnership effective October 1, 2006. A special thanks to all those who assisted in this important
project. The WIB staff displayed a great demonstration of teamwork and tenacity in this task.
• Cumberland County: The PA CareerLink Cumberland County has the following events scheduled for Health
Careers Awareness Week, November 13, 2006 to November 17, 2006:
o November 13, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.- Basic First Aid Training
o November 14, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.-“The Benefits of Employment in a Nursing Home
Environment.”
o November 15, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.-Roundtable of Carlisle Hospital Professionals
o November 16, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.-Important Health Screenings & Immunization Seminar
o November 17, 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon-Health Care Training Provider Fair
If you have any questions, or would like further information about these events, please contact the PA CareerLink
Cumberland County at 717-243-4431.
“The PA CareerLink Cumberland County staff would like to sincerely thank Miss Megan Fitzgerald for all of the
support she extended to our staff over the years as she served in the capacity of Quality Assurance Coordinator for
Special Projects for the South Central Workforce Investment Board.”
• Youth Update: At the State Youth Council Meeting on November 14th, Betty Holmboe, Executive Director of the
Capitol Region Partnership for Career Education will be highlighting the important work of Intermediary Units by
spotlighting 2 students from East Pennsboro High School who will be sharing their experiences of job shadowing at
Holy Spirit Hospital. This presentation will reinforce the importance of Intermediary Units and the work they do to
link youth to career exposure and employers in our area.
Doran Condon, Glenn Cauffman of YCAL, and Jim Roach of the Adams County Business Education Partnership
attended the Intermediary Network Fall Forum in Philadelphia. This conference highlighted the work that
Intermediaries perform and provided tools to assist them with building, convening and sustaining the networks.
• From the Welfare Coordinator: The Welfare vendors and CAOs from South Central attended a session here to
meet with Ruth Ann Van Dyke and Kerry Bacon from BETP to clarify and better understand current policy
changes that were made to concur with federal requirements. Many responses afterwards indicate that the meeting
was successful and served to bring everyone into scope with the new policies. The total TANF Participation Report
which is listed by county was just distributed and the state is currently at 44.8% and we are expecting the WIA
Participation Report after the state computes the numbers for October after the 18th of this month and we anticipate
an increase as well.
• Lebanon County: The BST of the PA CareerLink, Lebanon County will be conducting a visit to the Comcast Call
Center on Thursday, November 9.
MSC Sid Tool continues to recruit in the PA CareerLink, Lebanon County for Customer Service Representatives.
Nori Fisher, PA CareerLink Administrator will be teaching her final Junior Achievement lesson to the 2nd graders
in Steph Paine's class on November 9. The 2nd grade curriculum revolves around "Our Community” and shows
elementary school students the relevance of education to the workplace.
Nori Fisher "graduated" from the Commonwealth's Management Development Institute (MDI) Program on
November 8th at a ceremony in New Cumberland. MDI is a 2-year program that teaches leadership, and requires
participants to complete a Service Project that will benefit their Bureau.
• York County: On Wednesday, November 15, 2006, in recognition of the statewide Healthcare Careers Awareness
Week, the PA CareerLink York County will hold an Allied Healthcare Career & Training Fair from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. Both healthcare employers and educators will be taking part. Recruiters from Memorial Hospital, Pleasant
Acres Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, York County School of Technology, Consolidated School of Business,
and HACC, just to name a few, will be on hand to meet and greet those interested in learning more about careers in
healthcare. High school and Middle school students are also invited to attend.
Doreen Meeker and Deb Shifflet represented PA CareerLink York County at the semi-annual Wellspan Career Day
Festival as one of 49 exhibitors. They distributed 76 Career Guides and various other handouts such as enrolling on
the CareerLink website, services and activities of our PA CareerLink and information about careers in healthcare.
Additionally, they provided an initial introduction to PA CareerLink to many folks
“Check Out This Gift Horse” was the title of an article in the 10/31/2006 edition of
The York Dispatch about Ernie Kilby, owner of Kilby’s Equine Smile Restoration.
Ernie received his four-week training in DuBois, WY through the American School
of Equine Dentistry in Purcellville, VA using Workforce Investment Act funding last
year. His Southcentral Employment Corporation Case Manager, Sharon Hill, reports
that in addition to starting his own successful business, Ernie is also teaching part-
time at the school. OVR collaborated with the purchase of tools for Ernie’s business
start-up; this will be featured in an upcoming article by that agency. How did this fit
in with the High Priority Occupation List? Equine dentistry was considered a specialization under Veterinary
Assistants at the time. Pictures and audio are available online as part of the newspaper article (To check it out, go
to www.yorkdispatch.com, click on Features, then Dispatch Gallery, and then Multimedia Presentations. Find the
picture of Ernie and a horse, click on Audio: From the horse’s mouth; also included is a link to his business
website). Check it out!
York’s successful “Your Employability Skills” (YES) Certificate program has been revived and re-engineered to
include not only adults seeking to improve their employment skills but is also targeting high school youth who want
to better their workplace soft skills--active listening, conflict resolution, and time management, etc.
Sandra Butt-Richardson, Business Representative from York, recently visited with the first YES class completing
the six-week program November 10th, to talk about the many resources available to Job Seekers through the
CareerLink system. As part of the program area employers/manufacturers have indicated that they will give hiring
preference to graduates of the program. This initiative was spearheaded by the Manufacturers Association of South
Central Pennsylvania, along with support from the York County Economic Development Corporation, the Chamber
of Commerce, local business community and the PA CareerLink in York County, and is already being replicated in
other PA counties.
• Interesting fact: Baby Boomers are reaching age 60 at the rate of 8,000 a day and are leaving the labor force even
faster. That retirement-age population will grow 120% over the next 35 years, while the working-age population
that will be available to replace them is expected to increase just by 20%. Source: The Wall Street Journal. October
13, 2006:B1
• New One-Stop Federal Compliance Resource: For the first time, there is a single website that business owners can
turn to for all of their federal compliance information. Business.gov searches for compliance news, information and
federal forms from nearly 100 government websites, and compile government compliance contact information from
throughout the federal government. With compliance demands on small businesses growing over the past decade,
business owners can be overwhelmed. Source: PA Times. October 2006:p11
• Book Lending Opportunity: The following titles are available at the SCWIB offices for lending. If you are
interested in borrowing, please contact Bev Updyke at bupdyke@state.pa.us The available titles are as follows:
o O’Toole, James and Edward E. Lawler III. The New America Workplace. New York: Palgrave
MacMillan, 2006
o Kamensky, John M. and Thomas J. Burlin eds. Collaboration: Using Networks and Partnerships.
Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004
o Newman, Katherine S. Chutes and Ladders: Navigating the Low-Wage Market. n.p: Russell Sage
Foundation, 2006
o Schramm, Carl J. The Entrepreneurial Imperative: How America’s Economic Miracle Will
Reshape the World. New York: HarperCollins, 2006
o Shaw, Kathleen M., et al. Putting Poor People to Work: How the work-first idea eroded college
access for the poor. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2006
o Shaw, Kathleen M., et al. eds. Community Colleges as Cultural Texts: Qualitative Explorations
of Organizational and Student Culture. Albany, NY: State University of New York, 1999
Veterans Day-November 11, 2006
We would like to thank all those who are serving and who have served in the United States Armed Forces.
We truly appreciate your service and dedication.
The PA CareerLinks, Southcentral Employment Corporation (SEC), and South Central WIB will be closed on
Friday, November 10 in observance of this state holiday. The offices will reopen for regular hours on Monday,
November 13, 2006.
Industry Clusters Updates:
Check out the 2nd Issue of the Industry Cluster Consortia Newsletter. This issue is available at
www.wibpa.org.
*Reminder*
Health Careers Awareness Week begins November 13th!
Remember to outreach to your local PA CareerLink center for more information.
Available Resources:
• www.paworkstats.state.pa.us. A comprehensive online resource serving Pennsylvania's job seekers, employers,
education and training providers, counselors, news media, and workforce professionals by the Center for
Workforce Information and Analysis.
• www.paworkforce.state.pa.us. “The home of workforce development in PA”
• www.businessofgovernment.org. A Manager’s Guide to Choosing and Using Collaborative Networks
• www.wkcd.org. What Kids Can Do. Interesting stories, issues and resources covering youth
Upcoming Meetings
• Operators Consortium: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. in Rm. 305 of Two Penn Center (SCWIB staff
contact: Beverly Updyke, 920-7093)
• Logistics and Transportation Consortium: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. in Rm. 305 of Two
Penn Center (SCWIB staff contact: Carrie Kutney, 920-7097)
• Printing Consortium: Thursday, November 16, 2006 at 8:00 a.m in York County. (SCWIB staff contact: Carrie
Kutney, 920-7097)
• Hospitality Consortium: Friday, November 17, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. in Rm. 305 of Two Penn Center (SCWIB staff
contact: Carrie Kutney, 920-7097)
• LEO Board: Friday, November 17, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. in Rm. 165/166 of Three Penn Center (SCWIB staff contact:
Beverly Updyke, 920-7093)
• Utilities Industry Cluster Charter Meeting: Thursday, November 30, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. in Rm. 305 of Two
Penn Center (SCWIB staff contact: Carrie Kutney, 920-7097)
• Administration/Finance Committee: Tuesday, December 5, 2006 at 8:30 a.m. in Rm. 305 of Two Penn Center
(SCWIB staff contact: Beverly Updyke, 920-7093)
• Program Development Committee: Wednesday, December 6, 2006 at 8:30 a.m. in Rm. 305 of Two Penn Center
(SCWIB staff contact: Beverly Updyke, 920-7093)
• Electronics Consortium: Thursday, December 7, 2006 at 8:00 a.m. Location TBD
• Health Care Steering Committee: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. in Rm. 305 of Two Penn Center
(SCWIB staff contact: Beverly Updyke, 920-7093)
• Youth Action Committee (YAC): December 14, 2006 at 8:00 a.m. in Rm. 305 of Two Penn Center (SCWIB staff
contact: Doran Condon, 717-920-2848)
• Local Management Committee: Friday, December 15, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. in Rm. 165/166 of Three Penn Center
(SCWIB staff contact: Wendy Fullerton, 920-1902)
Upcoming Events/Conferences:
• NAWB Forum 2007: February 24-27, 2007, in Washington D.C.