About Us

The Workforce Development Alliance (WDA) was conceived in the fall of 2007 with representatives from business/industry, education and training, economic development and the One-Stop Career Center system in the Southern Idaho region.  A driving force behind its formation was a growing concern by economic development professionals and other community leaders regarding the availability of a skilled workforce for our existing business base and business recruitment in the region.  
 
Under the direction of the board, the WDA will promote talent development and workforce recruitment for new, emerging and changing industries; work to change perceptions among parents and students about local career opportunities not requiring a 4-year degree; identifying entrepreneurial opportunities for job creation; and strengthening relationships between business/employers/industries with education/training and Idaho Department of Labor (IDOL) One Stop Career Centers.

To help the WDA achieve its goals, the region was awarded a $5 million USDOL WIRED grant in June of 2007 and will be used as the catalyst to jump-start many of the strategies to be developed by the Alliance.  The WIRED initiative provides substantial resources to the region to help transform the workforce development process positioning it to better compete now and in the future.

The WDA is comprised of representatives from business/industry, the College of Southern Idaho(CSI), regional IDOL offices, school districts representing K-12, chambers of commerce, Region IV Development Association, Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization (SIEDO) and other local economic development organizations.  The WIRED council operates as a standing committee within the WDA structure.

For more information regarding the WDA and workforce opportunities in the region, contact:  Brent Tolman, Executive Director at 208-678-5518 ext. 3120.

About Turning Point

As the regional labor market and economic landscape in south-central Idaho continues to change as a result of a more diversified business base, new career and job choices are available that do not require a four-year degree.  These changes require a transformation in the way the region educates and trains its future workforce, and how we provide retraining for our existing labor pool.
    
Numerous career opportunities in our region are available to students and adults that do not require a four-year degree, as well as support resources for those job opportunities. Turning Point will be the ongoing program designed to communicate and disseminate information on workforce related issues throughout southern Idaho.  Turning Point will showcase and educate the various initiatives that have been started as a result of the Workforce Development Alliance (WDA) and USDOLWorkforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant.

Turning Point, funded through the WIRED grant, will establish a coordinated central message and targeted themes to help:

	change perceptions and raise awareness among parents and students about local opportunities not requiring a four-year degree
	educate the current and potential regional workforce as to the numerous job/career possibilities and training opportunities, initially in construction, manufacturing
	identify entrepreneurial opportunities for job creation; and strengthen relationships between business/employers/industries and education/training and one-stop career centers