Workforce Development as a Catalyst for Economic Revitalization: Final Report of the Evaluation of Generation II and III Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Grants

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Workforce Development as a Catalyst for Economic Revitalization: Final Report of the Evaluation of Generation II and III Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Grants

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2014-07

Publication Info

This is the final report from the evaluation of the second and third rounds (or "generations") of grants in the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Initiative. The funds were awarded to consortia of business, education, economic development and workforce system leaders in 26 multi-county regions within (and sometimes between) states in order to effect "transformations" in each region’s economy, worker skills, and public workforce, education, and economic development systems. Data sources include site visits, surveys, administrative data, and extant economic and labor market data. The report focuses on the five goals of the WIRED Initiative, how well the Generation II and III projects met these goals, and plans for sustainability of project activities after the end of the grants’ period of performance. The five goals, as identified in the report, concerned: 1) regional economic development, 2) regional partnerships and collaboration, 3) workforce system transformation, 4) high-skill, high-wage jobs, and 5) disadvantaged populations’ skills and work readiness. The report documents that the 26 projects provided training for at least 37,500 people, approximately 80 percent of whom completed their training, and that, under the grants, almost 12,000 educators received some sort of professional development and there were about 300 business startups.