In November 2009, TRWIB hired Micah Frankenfield as the Youth Policy Manager. Micah earned a B.A. in Business Administration with a minor in Economics and Peace and Conflict Studies from Bluffton University.

Micah originally started at TRWIB as a member of PULSE (Pittsburgh Urban Leadership Service Experience) and served an 11 month term as Project Assistant.

Micah has a strong belief in the importance of Youth Workforce Development; when he was a senior in high school he was afforded the opportunity to job shadow the Human Resources Manager at the Cabela's outfitter store in Hamburg, PA for a week. Through this experience he is now able to realize the importance of career exploration activities during a youth's high school education.

Micah is a Philadelphia native, where he grew up in Souderton, PA and is a dedicated Philadelphia sports fan of the Phillies, the Eagles, and the Flyers.

TRWIB is pleased to announce two new spring semester internships. Continuing our support for students' career exploration and experiential learning, TRWIB welcomes applications for the following intern positions: Research, Policy and Communication Intern and a Youth Policy/Industry Partnership Project Assistant. Both positions start in January and end in May 2010, range from 20 - 30 hours per week, and offer competitive hourly compensation. To see full descriptions, please Click Here.

TRWIB provides equal opportunity and encourages applications of all qualified persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

To learn more about the TRWIB internship program or to discuss current opportunities, contact: Vera Krofcheck at vkrofcheck@trwib.org or 412-552-7095.

TRWIB submitted industry partnership proposals to the PA Department of Labor and Industry based on analysis done through the "Seeing in 3D" report. TRWIB was awarded industry partnership dollars for 5 focus industries:
- Business and Financial Services
- Building and Construction
- Healthcare
- Manufacturing
- Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

In addition to these partnerships, TRWIB will also be assisting in the development of two other funded industry partnerships: 3 Rivers Clean Energy Partnership, and Material Sciences Industry Partnership.

These partnerships will be addressing industry identified needs while ensuring that employers are connected to the public workforce system.

For more information on TRWIB's Industry Partnerships please e-mail Micah Frankenfield at mfrankenfield@trwib.org.

The December 2009 issue of Understanding the Local Labor Market spotlights the Construction industry. The publication examines the educational requirements and wage rates for workers in the industry and features the needs of industry employers, as discussed in a focus group with industry representatives led by TRWIB in November 2009.

The publication includes a focus on green jobs, which provide opportunities in the construction industry. Analysis includes job growth in seven occupations which are identified as both green and high priority occupations, provides an introduction of various green certifications, and discusses regional initiatives around green jobs and clean energy.

Thanks to funding from the Department of Labor's Multiple Education Pathways Blueprint Grant program TRWIB, Pittsburgh Public Schools, and the Office of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl have been working to develop a Blueprint for how the community and the school district can address the dropout issue facing our city.

For the last 2.5 years, a planning team has met regularly to examine best practices in other cities across the country, conduct additional research on dropouts in Pittsburgh, and make concrete recommendations for addressing the problem. Current recommendations and action steps are being finalized in the areas of
1. Educational Options;
2. Educational Supports;
3. Policies and Procedures; and
4. Stakeholder Involvement

Final recommendations and action plans will be available on TRWIB's website in 2010. Click Here to view a presentation on preliminary findings presented at the Pittsburgh Drop Out Summit.

The Youth Policy Council (YPC) had its second quarterly meeting on Wednesday December 9th. The YPC is in the process of determining how to integrate regional youth initiatives that already exist. The YPC discussed strategies to integrating Youth Policy within the Industry Partnerships, the Regional Career Education Partnership, and the Multiple Education Pathways Blueprint. Before the 3rd quarter YPC meeting, the group will meet to determine a plan of action for effectively integrating youth policy among these different groups of stakeholders.

For more information on TRWIB's YPC please e-mail Micah Frankenfield at mfrankenfield@trwib.org.

To facilitate workforce planning and decision-making processes on a local and regional level, TRWIB has created an extensive collection of labor market information. A host of reports, analysis, presentations, and studies can be accessed via www.trwib.org/research-publications/lmi.html.

TRWIB updates the most relevant workforce supply-demand indicators monthly and revises annually labor market data on each of the occupational and industry clusters.  TRWIB publishes industry focused reports every other month. TRWIB staff can also share presentations used in various speaking engagements.

To provide comments or suggest additional research ideas, please contact: Vera Krofcheck at vkrofcheck@trwib.org or 412-552-7095.