West Central Works Uses Grant Funds to Benefit Workers & Businesses
West Central Works has over 96 employees dedicated to helping workers and businesses succeed. Our job is to support you and we do it well. If you have a problem - we have a solution.
Here’s the scoop. Over $2 million in federal grant funding is available to make it easier for Wisconsin folks to work at full capacity. For employers, that means we have money to pay for training, subsidize salaries and pay for relocations. For workers, that means we can help you find and keep a job by subsidizing the cost of things that could prevent you from working - like daycare or home internet.
We know that grant funds and government programs can be complicated. That’s why we’re offering to figure it out for you. If you have a challenge you need help solving, contact us. We will find the solution, present it to you and complete the paperwork necessary to make it happen. It’s that easy.
Determining which grants you qualify for can be complicated. That’s why we recommend reaching out to our team to discuss your challenge. Once we understand the situation, we can offer solutions that best fit your needs.
Connect with a Team Member Today!
Results
The H‐1B Rural Healthcare Grant alleviates healthcare workforce shortages in rural counties by creating sustainable employment and training programs. The H‐1B grant serves underemployed, underserved, and unemployed individuals who are looking to move into the healthcare field.
We can help you get the training and financial assistance you need for a passionate career. Contact us today to find out if you qualify for financial assistance to cover tuition, books and more.
- ADN Registered Nurse
- Home Health Aide
- Medical Assistant
- Medical and Clinical Lab Technician
- Phlebotomist
- Substance Abuse Counselor
- Social and Human Services Assistant
- Telehealth (certificate only)
To find out more information or to apply for this grant, please contact:
Deb Nichols
West Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board
Director of Business Services
dnichols@wdbwcw.org
715-235-8393 ext 106
The Chippewa Valley Correctional Treatment Facility Job Center AND Individuals at Stanley Correctional Institution assist incarcerated individuals prepare and search for employment. They apply current program knowledge, performance goals, labor market information, internet‐based tools, wage and trend information; high growth and high wage information, workplace needs, worker skills, qualifications, and interests, career assessment, development, and planning strategies, and knowledge of the local, regional, and statewide labor market and business community needs to provide assisted self‐service, case management, one on one, and group services to individuals incarcerated.
To find out more information on Stanley Correctional Institution job help contact:
Anthony Mouw
amouw@wdbwcw.org
715-235-8393 ext 105
The Pathways Home 2 Grant helps The Department of Corrections provide pre‐release services and prepares individuals for their return to their communities in the following counties: Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix. Pre‐release services include job preparation, developing individual service plans that identify barriers to employment and re‐entry, career exploration and planning, and assistance with linking inmates to the resources required to help them transition back to their communities.
To find out more information or to apply for this grant please contact:
Jack Schaefer
jschaefer@wdbwcw.org
715-235-8393 ext. 106.
The State Emergency Relief Program provides immediate help to individuals and families facing conditions of extreme hardship or for emergencies that threaten health and safety. SER helps low-income households meet emergency needs such as:
- Heat & Utilities
- Home Repairs
- Relocation Assistance
- Home Ownership Services
- Burial
The DWG program is primarily designed to maintain low-income households who are normally able to meet their needs but occasionally need help when emergency situations arise. (The DWG program is not an appropriate solution to ongoing or chronic financial difficulties.)
To find out more information or to apply for this grant, please contact:
Deb Nichols
West Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board
Director of Business Services
dnichols@wdbwcw.org
715-235-8393 ext 106
The Pathways Home 2 Grant helps The Department of Corrections provide pre‐release services and prepares individuals for their return to their communities in the following counties: Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix. Pre‐release services include job preparation, developing individual service plans that identify barriers to employment and re‐entry, career exploration and planning, and assistance with linking inmates to the resources required to help them transition back to their communities.
To find out more information or to apply for this grant please contact:
Deb Nichols
West Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board
Director of Business Services
dnichols@wdbwcw.org
715-235-8393 ext 106
Interested in entering the childcare industry? The State of Wisconsin needs you! The QUEST grant provides support and training needed to get individuals back to or working in the early childcare field in the State of Wisconsin.
To find out more information or to apply for this grant please contact:
Robert Mirshak
rmirshak@wdbwcw.org
(917)-282-0687
The STC Grant for Opioid Recovery will provide training, career services, and supportive services to individuals impacted by the opioid crisis. Community coalition partners include employers, industry organizations, treatment and recovery centers, educational providers, and others. Additionally, within this grant is the opportunity to provide training for individuals interested in pursuing careers in the field of substance abuse and recovery.
To find out more information or to apply for this grant, please contact:
Deb Nichols
West Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board
Director of Business Services
dnichols@wdbwcw.org
715-235-8393 ext 106
The Worker Advancement Initiative serves people whose previous employment has not come back from the pandemic, as well as those who were not attached to or were not successful in the labor market prior to the pandemic, by offering subsidized employment and skills training opportunities with local employers. This program builds on the success of current transitional jobs programs in the state by launching a new, statewide effort to provide subsidized work opportunities.
If you are a business wanting more information, contact:
Amanda Soltau
asoltau@nwwib.com
715-235-8393 ext. 106
Windows to Work is a program that helps inmates who are about to be released into the West Central Wisconsin workforce development area search for and secure employment to ensure successful reintegration into the community after release.
To find out more information or to apply for this grant please contact:
Anthony Mouw
amouw@wdbwcw.org
&15-235-8393 ext 105
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act strengthens and improves our nation's public workforce system and helps get Americans, including youth and those with significant barriers to employment, into high-quality jobs and careers and help employers hire and retain skilled workers. WIOA is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy. At Workforce Development we separate these into four areas:
- Youth
- Adult
- Dislocated Workers
- Rapid Response
The objective of the Wisconsin Fast Forward (WFF) standard grant program is to award funds to businesses from all Wisconsin industry sectors that reimburse the costs of customized occupational training for unemployed, underemployed, and incumbent workers. The customized, business-driven training will qualify workers for full-time employment, higher level employment, or increased wages.
The Worker Advancement Initiative serves people whose jobs have not come back since the pandemic, as well as those who were not attached to or were not successful in the labor market prior to the pandemic, by offering subsidized employment and skills training opportunities with local employers. The program builds on the success of current transitional job programs in the state by launching a new, statewide effort to provide subsidized work opportunities to approximately 2,000 individuals.
PROGRAM GOAL:
The goal of the Workforce Innovation Grant Program is to help the regions of Wisconsin solve their most pressing workforce challenges by financially supporting collaborative, sustainable and innovative pandemic-recovery plans developed by regional organizations.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
The Workforce Innovation Grant Program is a collaboration between the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the Department of Workforce Development (DWD). The program provides up to $10 million grants to regional organizations to design and implement innovative plans that help solve the workforce challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has caused in their regions. This program encourages the development of leading-edge, long-term solutions that enable businesses to more easily find workers and empower those workers to more successfully prepare for and connect to the family-supporting careers in their regions.
Governmental entities, non-profits and tribal governments are eligible to apply for the grants. Approximately $40.5 million is available in Round 2. Applications for Round 2 opened on February 22, 2022 and closed on April 18, 2022. Award announcements will be made in Summer 2022. Round 1 awards totaling up to $59.5 million were announced in December for 12 recipients. Read more about the projects funded by the first round of grants.
Applications must address a region’s most pressing pandemic-related workforce challenge and offer an innovative solution specific to the region’s need. These may include, but are not limited to:
- Training and/or reskilling initiatives for in-demand jobs
- Career counseling or coaching services
- Access to transit or broadband solutions
- Childcare solutions or supportive services
Among the projects funded in the first round of grants are public-private partnerships to train and attract healthcare workers throughout rural Wisconsin; develop next-generation advanced manufacturing employees in west-central and southeast Wisconsin; expand affordable, high-quality childcare in northeast, south, and south-central Wisconsin; create pipelines of young, educated workers in Milwaukee; train construction and skilled craft workers throughout the state; foster a culture of entrepreneurship in southeast Wisconsin; and enable incarcerated individuals to earn undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin.
The Workforce Innovation Grant Program rewards creativity, promote sustainable regional collaboration and fosters local accountability and participation to address the regional workforce challenges resulting from the pandemic’s extended period of labor disruption.
