Our Goals

A. Lead the Region’s one-stop career center system which:

• Aligns education, employment and training services
• Reinforces retraining and retention of the current workforce
• Provides valued services and dependable results for business and the workforce
• Embeds the principles of continuous quality improvement

  B.  Strengthen the Regional workforce development system which:

• Expands ways in which business is engaged
• Tailors its services and products responsive to business
• Leverages resources and aligns strategies of key partners
• Partners strategically to strengthen regional competitiveness and job creation
• Elevates support of workforce development issues, policies and initiatives

C.  Champion a systemic approach to lifelong learning which:

• Is responsive to business and industry needs
• Enables workers to identify opportunities and pathways for career success
• Offers workers opportunities to upgrade their skills in response to changing workforce needs and challenges
• Promotes competency-based education and training programs

D. Strategically Partner with Regional Economic Development:

• Identify opportunities to align education, workforce and economic development
• Leverage resources to achieve common goals

The 2016-2020 Local Combined Workforce Plan

Northwest Workforce Council (Council), in consultation with local elected officials, oversees the WorkSource (one-stop) system programs and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title 1-B employment and training programs, coordinates local area workforce development services, and provides expertise and demand-driven workforce services to employers and job seekers in Whatcom, Skagit, Island, and San Juan Counties. Council members chart an important course to help local businesses, workers and communities realize a more prosperous future.

The combined plan is the first local plan in place since implementation of the WIOA. The plan was developed with local workforce development system partners and stakeholders and reflects system-wide goals and strategies to achieve optimum results serving our shared business and job seeker customers.

The plan is a “living” document. The Council and its workforce system partners consult it often, revise course as necessary, and mark milestones as we work to realize a shared vision for the region’s prosperity. The local combined plan assesses local industry and business talent needs and sets forth strategies for the region’s workforce development system that remain consistent with the state’s workforce system goals in “Talent and Prosperity for All: The Strategic Plan for Unlocking Washington’s Workforce Potential.”

The local combined plan reflects a deep commitment by the Council to the economic vitality of the community and a confidence in the ability to redesign and re-energize the workforce development system to meet evolving talent demands in local and global economies