2018 Agenda
Thursday, April 19, 2018
8:00 a.m.
Registration // East Lobby
9:15 to 10:00 a.m.
Opening Keynote // Main Ballroom
Dr. Richard Deming // Mercy Medical Center and Above + Beyond Cancer
9:00 to 9:15 a.m.
Welcome & Opening Comments // Main Ballroom
Robert Ryan, AIWP Chair // Region 16 Burlington
10:00 to 10:15 a.m.
Break
10:15 to 11:30 a.m.
WIOA & PACE Successful Training Partnerships // West Ballroom
Clay Huston and Michelle Vandenberg
This workshop is designed to help Case Managers who are assuming primary responsibility for case management and enrollment for training activities. This workshop will touch on the many practical issues we have faced with dual enrollment and partnerships in Region 16. We will highlight our customers’ success stories from start to end. We will also provide a list of resources and other programs that have implemented additional services to our customers. Participants in this workshop will learn about our excellent collaboration of services and networking tools.
Collaboration & Co-Enrollments: A Center Wide Approach to Achieving Success // Southeast Ballroom
Keri Kono
Attendees will have the opportunity to see how IowaWORKS Cedar Valley has streamlined enrollment processes and created more opportunities for co-enrollment in a variety of programs including GAP/PACE, Adult, Dislocated Worker, DEI and Young Adult. Information will be given in regards to documentation that was modified to fit the needs of all programs, workshops that were introduced to better prepare participants for the workforce, how this has impacted the success of participants, and best practices that we have learned along the way.
Teamwork is Like a Jigsaw Puzzle - You Can’t Afford to Lose a Single Piece ... Everyone is Valuable! // Northeast Ballroom
Janice Dolan and Jamie McLaughlin
Building the right team is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle where each piece has its specific place. The strengths and weaknesses of each member of your team also create uniqueness - people with different abilities and talents that contribute to the overall puzzle of this thing we call work! This session will enlighten you to consider your personal abilities and strengths that can lead to engaging employment, how to become the contributor you want to be by sharing your talents, and the impact that engaged, contributing employees have to the success of the team.
Recipe for Success - “A little bit of this, A little bit of that” // Youth Track // Salon A/B
Amber Casebeer and Lisa Smith
With so many ingredients, there’s bound to be flour in the air. Lisa and Amber will reveal the six ingredients that will assure a sweet success with youth. This workshop promises to be engaging and relevant not only to the job seeker but also to you, as a professional. Come learn our recipe.
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Lunch // Main Ballroom // Buffet Located in the North Lobby
Remarks by Steve FaulknerIowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services
12:30 to 12:45 p.m.
Break
12:45 to 2:00 p.m.
The Neuroscience of Inclusion: Addressing Unconscious Bias Supersession* // West Ballroom
Claudia Schabel
Organizations have worked for years to help their employees understand the value of a diverse workforce. One of the primary obstacles we face in leveraging workplace diversity is our own unconscious bias. Research suggests that we instinctively place people into categories based on their appearance, educational level, social status, job title, and so on. Right or wrong, this helps us order our world and saves us time and effort as we process information about people. However, these stereotypes—or unconscious biases—lead us to make assumptions about others. These unconscious biases can affect who is hired, promoted, and developed in the workplace, which can ultimately derail your organization’s culture and diversity efforts. Participants in this session will leave with an improved understanding of how the brain functions and shapes their behaviors, both consciously and unconsciously. Participants will also explore ways to mitigate their own unconscious biases.
Successful Registered Apprenticeship Partnerships // Southeast Ballroom
Jill Lippincott and Panel
Learn the various models and benefits to establishing Registered Apprenticeship programs among partners and intermediary organizations. Presenters will highlight success stories and best practices for involving multiple core partners in creating a long-term employment solution for employers.
Structured On-the-Job Training: All the World is a Classroom // Northeast Ballroom
Cheri Estes and Paul Smith
Upon completion of this workshop, attendees will:
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Be able to identify the benefits of linking internships to structured on-the-job training programs to apprenticeship programs.
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Be able to diagnose which gaps can most effectively be addressed through learning activities.
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Be able to modify examples given to apply to the training program needs in their own organization.
Disclosure-On the job, in private life...it is about understanding me! // Youth Track // Salon A/B
Diane Twait Nelsen
This workshop will examine and explore curriculum and tools to help students, their families, and teachers better understand what disability disclosure is all about. Time will be spent on helping those in attendance understand the differences in each person’s unique journey when it comes to disclosure and will help students, families, and teachers weave understanding about disclosure into a student’s transition plan.
2:00 to 2:15 p.m
Break
2:15 to 3:30 p.m.
The Neuroscience of Inclusion: Addressing Unconscious Bias Supersession* // West Ballroom
Claudia Schabel
Organizations have worked for years to help their employees understand the value of a diverse workforce. One of the primary obstacles we face in leveraging workplace diversity is our own unconscious bias. Research suggests that we instinctively place people into categories based on their appearance, educational level, social status, job title, and so on. Right or wrong, this helps us order our world and saves us time and effort as we process information about people. However, these stereotypes—or unconscious biases—lead us to make assumptions about others. These unconscious biases can affect who is hired, promoted, and developed in the workplace, which can ultimately derail your organization’s culture and diversity efforts. Participants in this session will leave with an improved understanding of how the brain functions and shapes their behaviors, both consciously and unconsciously. Participants will also explore ways to mitigate their own unconscious biases.
Growth Mindset // Southeast Ballroom
Rachel Thompson
Explore what a growth mindset is through learning about pitfalls of a fixed mindset, the benefits of a growth mindset, and how to move into a growth mindset. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of growth mindset and how it can benefit them or their clients to accomplish goals.
Stories from Iowa’s Disability Employment Initiative // Northeast Ballroom
Brian Dennis
Since 2012, Iowa has participated in the Disability Employment Initiative, which is tasked with helping expand the capacity of the America’s Job Centers and overall workforce system to better serve job seekers with disabilities. Through strategies such as blending and braiding resources, collaborative partnerships and the development of the Integrated Resource Team (IRT) strategy, the DEI project is part of an increased emphasis under WIOA to provide quality service to all customers regardless of barriers. Serving five pilot regions across the state of Iowa, the DEI team will discuss successes, lessons learned, and best practice for implementation, partnering, and collaboration. This session will describe the local level implementation of the DEI Grant, give examples of partnering, collaboration, and services for persons with disabilities through the America’s Job Centers and discuss the IRT Model of Service Coordination.
Enlist, Educate, Employ for Future Ready Iowa (E3) // Youth Track // Salon A/B
Lieutenant Colonel Jason Wisehart
Come learn more about this initiative that provides opportunities for Iowans to gain experience, education, and employment in order to meet the needs of employees and employers and create a future ready Iowa by 2025.
3:30 to 3:45 p.m.
Break
3:45 to 5:00 p.m.
Bridges Out of Poverty // West Ballroom
Rachel Thompson
This workshop will provide an overview of the triple lens of poverty and how it impacts businesses, community, and individuals impacted by poverty. Attendees will learn how to apply these concepts to their daily work and personal lives to positively impact those that are impacted by poverty.
Upskilling Through Collaboration // Southeast Ballroom
Pam Wright and Panel
Hawkeye Community College panelists Brenda Helmuth, Keri Kono, and Jerry Orr will share best practices they use to ensure quality career training opportunities are available for community members. Participants will learn how the partnership between Business & Community Ed and IowaWorks gathers information to determine the types of programs to run; implements measures to ensure participant retention; and how these processes are monitored for continuous improvement.
Connecting with Alternative Schools // Northeast Ballroom
Kim Brinkmeyer and Becky Hassett
Hawkeye Community College panelists Brenda Helmuth, Keri Kono, and Jerry Orr will share best practices they use to ensure quality career training opportunities are available for community members. Participants will learn how the partnership between Business & Community Ed and IowaWorks gathers information to determine the types of programs to run; implements measures to ensure participant retention; and how these processes are monitored for continuous improvement.
Unlocking Effective Communication with Youth // Youth Track // Salon A/B
Heather Brooks and Jackie Turnquist Sandoval
In order to teach youth how to become effective communicators, we must understand how teaching skills such as Self-Awareness, Emotional Intelligence, and Personal Branding are their keys to successful communication. Join us in this interactive workshop as we dive into the essential communication skills we teach that allow us to better engage with our youth and empower them to communicate themselves professionally.
5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Networking Reception
Join your colleagues for a networking reception at the hotel pool bar area. Light appetizers and refreshments will be hosted by AIWP. Cash bar available.
Friday, April 20, 2018
7:30 a.m.
Registration Opens // East Lobby
Breakfast Served // North Lobby
8:30 to 9:45 a.m
Back to the Future with Work-Based Learning // West Ballroom
Josh Davies
Within the next four years, it is estimated that 45 million middle-skills jobs will be available – with no one to fill them. Georgetown University shows that 40 percent of all job growth by the end of the decade will be in these jobs that require more than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year college degree. The key to meeting this demand, providing sustainable employment, and strengthening our communities requires us to go back to the future: focus on work-based learning. Apprenticeships, internships, and on-the-job training are the new buzzwords for educators and workforce professionals across the country; though the reality is that work-based learning has been around since medieval times. The key to making these approaches work in our information age is to take the best from the past, and adapt it to the realities of today. This interactive, high-energy presentation looks at evidence-based approaches to make your work-based learning as effective as possible. Learn how to maximize your investments and deliver consistent outcomes by bringing yesterday’s solution to tomorrow’s problem.
Ticket to Work/SSA Work Incentives // Southeast Ballroom
Sheila Stoeckel
This workshop will provide information and education about the Ticket to Work Program through the Social Security Administration and will describe how the Iowa State Partnership Employment Network (EN) works.
Community Collaboration: Sector Partnerships in Iowa // Youth Track // Salon A/B
Joe Collins
One of the primary goals of a collaborative sector partnership is to bring together local employers from the same industry to collectively discuss, identify, and resolve local workforce issues, such as Iowa’s shrinking and aging workforce. Joe Collins was recently hired in a newly developed position with the Iowa Department of Education to connect, assist, and empower these employer-driven, community-based programs across the state. With an expanding list of over 60 sector partnerships in a wide range of industries and at different stages of development, this is an exciting time for sector partnerships in Iowa! Join us for this session to learn more about newly developed statewide materials, strategies, and initiatives to continue to support the development and growth of collaborative sector partnerships to keep Iowa’s employers strong, growing, and competitive.
Authentic Youth-Adult Partnerships // Youth Track // Salon A/B
Julie Cackler, Otto Gunderson, and Wendy Batten Havemann
Through simulation and real life examples learn about the value of youth-adult partnerships. Examples will vary from youth program delivery to organizational leadership.
9:45 to 10:00 a.m.
Break
10:00 to 11:15 a.m.
FA E&T in Iowa: A Growing Resource for Iowa’s Food Assistance Recipients // West Ballroom
Andrew Schramm
Iowa’s Food Assistance Employment & Training (FA E&T) program provides eligible participants with opportunities to train for in-demand fields and improve their ability to achieve a sustainable family wage. In addition, the FA E&T program is a resource for community college partners to build on existing workforce development and skill-based education programs by offering reimbursement of non-federal funds spent on participants in these programs who are receiving Food Assistance. This session will describe the FA E&T program’s mission and administration, the benefits to participants and member organizations, and how your clients can become FA E&T participants.
Bridging the Gap: Connecting Classrooms & Industry // Southeast Ballroom
Melinda Perez
“Who really uses this stuff? Why do I have to learn it?” These are questions teachers hear all too often in their classrooms. However, what if we could have industry professionals with relevant experience answer those questions directly? This session explores why and how connecting industry to classrooms addresses some workforce challenges, builds a pipeline for career fields, and enables companies to give back while inspiring future generations. (Oh – and it’s fun too!)
The Carpenter with No Hands // Northeast Ballroom
Robert “Bobby” Abrahams
Mr. Abrahams will demonstrate projects he has created using video and other methods.
What is IET and IELCE 101 // Youth Track // Salon A/B
Marcela Hermosillo-Tarin and Mike Williams
Iowa’s economy is changing and is in need of a skilled workforce to address the state’s skills gap. Fifty-five percent of Iowa jobs today are classified as middle-skilled, requiring some education and training beyond high school, but only 33 percent of the labor pool has the appropriate skillset. Integrated education and training (IET) and Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) have emerged as approaches that can help workers acquire or refresh key basic skills while also pursuing occupational or industry-specific training to address the state’s skills gap. This workshop will provide an overview of the WIOA rules regarding the implementation of IET and IELCE programs. Discussion topics will include the various models and practices that are available as our WIOA partners engage in the implementation of an accelerated and integrated curriculum towards skilled employment.
11:15 to 11:30 a.m.
Break
11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Closing Plenary - Work Ethic: The Must-Have Skills for the 21st Century WorkforceMain Ballroom
Josh Davies, Center for Work Ethic Development
The modern workplace is constantly evolving, but the pace of change has never been faster. It is estimated that 80 percent of the jobs of 2030 haven’t even been invented yet! With this rapid change taking place in every sector of the workforce, a set of skills has emerged as the must-haves for the jobs of today AND tomorrow. Sometimes called soft skills or foundational behaviors, employers simply call them Work Ethic. Nearly 9 out of 10 hiring managers nationwide say work ethic is their most important factor in hiring. The challenge is that fewer than 1 in 5 job seekers today have these universal skills, and almost all education is instead focused on academic and specific skills. We have both the opportunity and responsibility to our customers, clients, and community to start building these skills today. This engaging and interactive presentation highlights simple training and leadership approaches that can be used by any individual or organization. By analyzing employer-based research, defining the seven behaviors of work ethic, and applying innovative teaching methodology, participants discover how to make lasting behavior change. Discover how you can build the foundational behaviors of work ethic and build the must-have skills for the 21st Century!
12:15 p.m.
Door Prizes
Make sure to turn in your vendor BINGO card at Registration for your chance to win!