Presented via Zoom, by University of Washington’s Center for Women’s Welfare

Wednesday October 28, 1pm-2pm

Join us for this hour-long webinar as Lisa Manzer & Annie Kucklick from University of Washington’s CFWW share an overview of the self-sufficiency standard and findings from the newly released 2020 report, which details the cost of living increases and the impacts across the state of Washington.

Both single adults and families face higher costs of living in every county in Washington state. In Seattle, a single adult needs to earn more than the minimum wage to meet basic needs, and more than double that—$34 an hour—if they are caring for an infant. The data comes from the 2020 update to the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State, which provides an in-depth look at the cost of supporting a working family based on housing, childcare, food, healthcare, transportation, and eligible supports.

We have decided to delay the RFP #19-02 for WIOA Business Services until March 2021. This allows interested partners to focus resources on the challenging situation at hand, and for us to incorporate additional community feedback into the process.

The U.S. Department of Labor approved benefits for workers who lost their jobs due to a lack of work after December 18, 2017. Workers may receive vocational training, additional unemployment benefits, relocation expenses, reimbursement for an out-of-area job search and the federal Health Coverage Tax Credit. Older workers may receive a subsidy that covers the difference in wages earned at the time of separation and those earned in re- employment.

SEATTLE, WA – The Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County (WDC) and Bank of America announce a $150,000 year-long partnership tosupport the WDC’s Youth at Work Summer Employment Program.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Fund for Workforce Solutions has announced that two workforce collaboratives in its network—Seattle, Washington and Sarasota, Florida—will each receive $125,000 in grants for on-the-job training in high-demand advanced manufacturing skills.

On May 22nd the Kaiser Permanente Health Plan of Washington announced a generous grant of $350,000 to the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County (WDC) to expand apprenticeship opportunities in in-demand sectors for opportunity youth. "We’re pleased to have so many partners on-board as we take on this project,” said Marie Kurose, new CEO of the WDC. “It’s exciting to bring our focus on high-quality training and high-demand jobs into a community like South King County, where those resources, combined with a commitment to equitable outcomes, can have a huge impact on the lives of opportunity youth."

In a recent board election, Kristen Fox was voted Chair for a 2-year term. Kristen has served as a board member since 2018, and we are excited for her to bring her business intelligence and acumen, in addition to her compassion, to this leadership role.

The Self-Sufficiency Calculator was designed to support career planning, helping individuals to understand where they are starting, explore options, and make decisions about what to do next.

We are excited to announce that a design update will go live in early July. Read on to learn more, or let project manager Seanna Ruvkun take you on a quick video walkthrough.

Seattle, Wash– The Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County (WDC) is pleased to announce that Marie Kurose has been named the next Chief Executive Officer, bringing to the role more than 30 years of experience leading workforce development initiatives in the region, working in community-based organizations, private philanthropy, and major public institutions, including the City of Seattle and most recently the Port of Seattle. Ms. Kurose also served nearly seven years at the WDC—known at the time as the Private Industry Council—working as a Project Manager to implement initiatives that included partnering with agencies to establish the first centralized dislocated worker program site.

King County and City of Seattle are transforming the workforce system to connect more people to high-demand jobs. The new model will better align funding to help people who face barriers to employment and help ensure that employers have the well-trained workforce they need to remain competitive in the global economy.

Map Your Career, a career pathway planning resource illustrating Seattle-King County’s current and predicted labor market, has been completely redesigned with updated data.

In a classroom or career counseling setting, Map Your Career is most useful for broadening awareness around local opportunities, and inspiring further discovery of education, training pathways, and networking starting points.

In addition to a printed booklet for the public school and workforce systems, MapYourCareer.org is easily accessible on both desktop and mobile devices.

Let's take a walkthrough of the major features.