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Nevada Works outlines regional job-training programs and employer partnerships
Summary
Nevada Works CEO Milt Stewart presented the workforce board's programs for Northern Nevada, describing hubs, grants and industry partnerships aimed at placing jobseekers in training and employment across 13 counties.
Milt Stewart, chief executive officer of Nevada Works, told Story County commissioners on July 1 that the workforce board serves 13 counties in Northern Nevada and focuses on connecting employers and jobseekers through physical "hubs" and an online portal, employnv.gov.
Stewart said Nevada Works operates local business-and-career hubs that provide computers, interview rooms, job fairs, recruiting and prescreening services at no cost to employers and jobseekers. He described recent grant-funded initiatives including the Good Jobs in Northern Nevada program, incumbent-worker training rounds, a battery workforce initiative tied to the lithium life cycle, and youth-focused efforts to reach 16-to-24-year-olds who are neither in school nor employment.
The board, Stewart said, now manages multiple funding streams and has expanded annual revenue from about $6 million to roughly $18 million, and manages longer multi-year grants approaching $40 million in total funds. He emphasized industry sector partnerships that convene employers, labor and education providers to validate labor-market data and shape training. Stewart said regional openings exceed 25,000 while unemployed individuals also number roughly 25,000, a gap he described as not a direct match and one that requires targeted training and supports.
Stewart described program outcomes: more than 1,000 people have gone through the Good Jobs program with an about 80% placement rate, and incumbent-worker training has produced wage increases for over 90% of participants. He also noted partnerships with UNR tech hubs, Western Nevada College, the Boys & Girls Club, and tribal navigators working with 22 tribes in the region.
Laura Mather, who introduced Stewart and serves on the Nevada Works local elected officials body, and county staff asked about regional trends and workforce readiness. Stewart said employers increasingly seek both technical skills and workplace-readiness "soft skills," and described programs that deliver diplomas or equivalency concurrently with technical training so participants do not have to pause one step to do another.
Presentation materials and Stewart's summary were informational; commissioners did not take action on the presentation.
