TRWIB is regularly featured in newspaper and blog articles, television news and radio segments.
The most recent contributions are featured below:
Lack of winter weather this season a plus for many
Winter for the Pittsburgh region came in like a lamb in December with an average temperature of 37.5 degrees -- 5.1 degrees above the monthly average -- and snowfall of 1.2 inches, well below the normal monthly average of 8.3 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Above-average temperatures have continued in January and February. With a little more than four weeks before spring, some businesses are benefiting from the mild season while others are hoping for the perfect storm to ice roadways, freeze pipes and, potentially, help their bottom lines.
Gov. Tom Corbett outlines proposals to boost job growth in Pennsylvania
For Gov. Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania’s economic salvation lies in new jobs, and the state’s role is to partner with industry to create and retain those jobs. To that end, the governor outlined a handful of new jobs-related programs in his 2012-2013 fiscal year budget.
Budget for Higher Education Cuts Community Colleges a Break
Last year, Governor Tom Corbett’s budget called for an 18 percent reduction in funding for Pennsylvania state schools. The governor’s 2012-2013 budget that was unveiled Tuesday slashed appropriations by 20 percent for the 14 state-owned universities.
Educators stressing career preparation in science and industry
Until about a year ago, Clay Sheffield wasn't much into science -- just like a lot of classmates at Trafford Middle School, he said. Now he's thinking of careers in medicine, and maybe life as an army medic.
He started thinking differently last year in sixth grade, inspired by his science teacher's lessons about the great scientists who've studied the animal kingdom.
Labor Market Information Release for January 2012
TRWIB's monthly Labor Market Information update for January 2012
Personnel Moves
The following have been appointed to the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board.
Retraining one answer to job loss situation
Tamika Macon Akers is the model of the Great Recession success story.
Before the economic downturn, Miss Akers had the type of job that defined security. She was a data entry clerk for the U.S. Postal Service. She expected to retire from the job with a nice pension after spending a few decades in a position that she said was mind-numbing.
Then came 2008. In September of that year, the extent of the recession started to become clear as Wall Street firms began to melt down.
Miss Akers, 35, of Forest Hills, lost her job, along with 476 co-workers in November 2008. In January, she started a program at Community College of Allegheny County for dislocated workers, which waived her tuition and trained her in biotechnology.
Business forum: Matching jobless to available work
The Bloomberg News Dec. 16 story "Skills 'Mismatch' Said to Hinder Hiring" details the national workforce supply-demand disconnect believed to be caused by the misalignment of people's talents and available jobs.
That same mismatch is prevalent here, challenging the Pittsburgh region's post-recession growth. The demand for skilled workforce grows.
Pittsburgh's biggest employers looking to fill more than 5,600 positions
Almost all of Pittsburgh’s 50 largest employers are looking to grow, and their combined needs outstrip the past two years. All told, they have 5,619 open positions, up 23 percent from 4,574 a year ago and almost 73 percent from 3,254 in December 2009.
Three Rivers Workforce board names new officers
Eight local people have been named to the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board.
December 2011 Newsletter
TRWIB's monthly e-newsletter for December 2011
Innovation, Evolution and Improvement
Innovation, evolution and improvement marked 2011 for Pittsburgh Regional Compact Member The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board (TRWIB). Here are some key highlights of what was accomplished, who helped and where we're heading from here.
Calgon Carbon’s UV division on a growth spurt
It’s going to get a little more crowded at the Calgon Carbon Corp. .. offices in Findlay Township, as the company plans to hire about 100 more people.
Enhancing opportunity
Kim Leonard's news story "Columbia Gas' pipeline project replaces aging infrastructure" (Nov. 13 and TribLIVE.com) sheds light on a significant challenge facing the region's natural gas industry. No one doubts the benefit of replacing tired, rusting infrastructure. And as the story points out, these projects create jobs. Problem is, there aren't enough men and women ready and able to fill the positions.
Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board taking over city, county job-training programs
Hope for Santana Hammond’s future came in the form of a flier she found tucked in her door one afternoon.
Her first try at post-secondary education ended when not even intensive tutoring could save her grade point average, she said. She chalks up the experience to learning and teaching styles that didn’t mesh.
The Left-Behinds
How three decades of flawed economic thinking have helped to create record numbers of long-term unemployed and undermine America’s middle class.
Laid-Off Pennsylvania Bank Workers to Receive Job Retraining, Placement Assistance
HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The state will invest up to $504,000 in National Emergency Grant funds to provide re-employment services to approximately 115 former workers from the Pittsburgh branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Secretary of Labor & Industry Julia Hearthway said today.
November 2011 Newsletter
TRWIB's monthly e-newsletter for November 2011
TRWIB seeks proposals for workforce services
PITTSBURGH - With more than 83,000 people in the Pittsburgh area unemployed in September 2011, the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board (TRWIB) today released a Request for Proposal (RFP), seeking qualified bidders to provide workforce services for adults and dislocated workers in the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
$504,000 grant for retraining after Federal Reserve layoffs
The 115 workers who lost their jobs at the Pittsburgh branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland because of the consolidation of U.S. savings bonds operations are eligible for job retraining.
October 2011 Newsletter
TRWIB's e-newsletter for October 2011
Profusion of job seekers no boon to employers
Perma-Cast, a mold castings company in Export, has hired five people to fill multiple factory laborers positions over the past month. But it hasn't been easy.
The $8.50-per-hour job, which requires some heavy lifting and ideally a background in factory work, has attracted candidates with either too little experience or far too much, said John Kazousky, sales and engineering manager for Perma-Cast.
"Very few people have applied, roughly between 12 and 15 total," he said. "It goes from the very young to the elderly, but nothing in between."
September 2011 Newsletter
TRWIB's e-newsletter for September 2011
Why We Moved to Pittsburgh: Stefani Pashman and Jeremy Feinstein
She was at the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton and Bush administrations, overseeing HIV/AIDS programs. He was at the Department of Justice, a member of the trial team on the Microsoft antitrust case. Why would this Beltway power couple come to Pittsburgh?
July/August Newsletter 2011
TRWIB's e-newsletter for July and August 2011
June 2011 Newsletter
TRWIB's e-newsletter for June 2011
Region did better in recession than it did during recovery
It is the paradox of the Pittsburgh economy that the region can be among the top 20 strongest metropolitan areas through the recession and recovery, and among the weakest 20 regions for the recovery alone.
CCAC working to be 'preferred pipeline' for skilled workers
CCAC's mechatronics program is one of the main components of the community college’s effort to train the local work force in the advanced manufacturing skills the local industry says it needs.
Youth job progams slashed by city, county
Now that the federal stimulus money is gone, the city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County have sharply scaled back summer youth employment programs that together employed more than 2,000 last year.
Teens face tough summer job search
One of the most startling data points amid last week's May unemployment data is the fact that the jobless rate among teenagers nationwide is 24 percent. The recession took a toll on the teen work force, which has struggled to recover.
'Green job' training's success limited
Charles Williams was unemployed for months before completing a program designed to retrain people for "green" jobs.
Williams, 49, of North Braddock said he graduated with certifications including asbestos removal, lead abatement and federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards. The longtime construction laborer last week got a job with a firm that rehabilitates houses in the Mon Valley.
Business Forum: Help youths in grade school imagine careers
Most of us who have landed at least one job can point to such a "nudge" from a person who took a chance on us, helped us dream and gave us our first chance to bridge from school to a job.
Thousands of students imagine careers right here
More than 4000 students and families across the region participated in a week-long workforce development initiative, Imagine! Career Week, an annual event that spotlights the many jobs and careers that are available to young people in the Pittsburgh region.
Pittsburgh Regional Compact highlights Imagine! Career Week in its spring newsletter
Last week was Imagine! Career Week in the Pittsburgh region, and 2011 marks the fifth anniversary of this week-long event. Showcasing a spectrum of resources and tools, Imagine! Career Week annually helps to prepare our young people for meaningful 21st-century jobs and careers in the Pittsburgh region.
CEOs make case for supporting Pittsburgh-area students
This week, The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board held a series of programs designed to expose young people to career opportunities in the Pittsburgh region.
Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board/SWPA Bots IQ Are Coming to Westmoreland Community College
The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board (TRWIB) and SWPA Bots IQ are coming to Westmoreland Community College to help local youth choose their career path as part of Imagine! Career Week...And robots will be involved!
City's internship program to link 35 youths with businesses
As part of an expanding effort to encourage Pittsburgh companies to invest in the region's up-and-coming workers, the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board yesterday announced WorkReady Pittsburgh, a six-week summer youth internship program.
Career Week in Pittsburgh Looks at Future
Imagine! Career Week kicked off its weeklong effort to show students throughout the region that there are many different career paths open to them with a gathering of those who create jobs and train future workers. Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board sponsors the event.