New WIRED Data Tools Ready for Immediate Use
November 19, 2008
The WIRED Information Center is now on-line and ready to use. This new resource has the best labor market tools and information available on the 10-county, bi-state WIRED region, stretching from Salem to Longview. Here's the link:
www.qualityinfo.org/wiredinfo
Features include: employment trends and projections, occupational staffing patterns, training providers, wages, employment service job applications, skill requirements and more… all on a regional basis.
The customized data resource will support important initiatives for workforce development and education in the Northern Willamette Valley and Southwest Washington WIRED region). Developing a coherent, regional approach to economic development is a key goal of WIRED, the U.S. Department of Labor’s “Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development” Initiative. The region was awarded a $5 million WIRED grant in 2007.
“Regional Partners are excited about this new tool. When recruiting new employers to our region, I know they want succinct and specific information about the local workforce and what training programs exist. This site is custom-made for regional economic developers' use.”
- Pamela Treece, Executive Director
Portland Regional Partners
“As we think and plan regionally, community colleges need information at our fingertips about employer needs and the types of training and education programs that are in place. WIRED and this new Information Center will help us to collaborate to efficiently meet future demand.”
- George Reese,
Director of Instructional Planning and Innovation
Clark College Vancouver, Washington
The WIRED Information Center was created for the Northwest Region’s WIRED program by the Workforce and Economic Research unit of the Oregon Employment Department, in collaboration with the Labor Market and Economic Analysis unit of Washington’s Employment Security Department. Cary Harkaway, WIRED Project Manager, is enthusiastic about the partnership, “I had no doubt that the data was available, but I was truly impressed by how flexible they were in customizing all of the information for us.”
For More Information and To Comment:
Cary Harkaway, WIRED Project Manager charkaway@worksystems.org (503) 478-7368
Worksystems, Inc.
For WIRED labor market information: www.qualityinfo.org/wiredinfo
For information about the region’s WIRED initiatives: www.wirednw.org