Vision Statement
A vibrant and sustainable economy.
Mission Statement
The Governor's Office of Workforce Innovation helps drive a skilled, diverse, and aligned workforce in the state of Nevada by promoting cooperation and collaboration among all entities focused on workforce development.
Founding Legislation
Outcomes
- Prepare all K-12 Students for College & Career Success
- Increase Nevadans with Postsecondary Degrees & Credentials
- Increase Employment Outcomes in Training and Credentialing Programs
A Skilled & Diverse Workforce Strengthens All Nevadans
The Nevada Governor's Office of Workforce Innovation (GOWINN), originally created via Executive Order in 2016 and codified into state statute in 2017, helps drive a skilled, diverse, and aligned workforce in the state of Nevada by promoting collaboration and cooperation among all entities focused on workforce development.
Under the administrative umbrella of DETR since July 2021, GOWINN works to support Nevada's workforce by providing leadership in assessing workforce policies and developing innovative ideas to strengthen the workforce system, promoting registered apprenticeships and work-based learning, leveraging labor-market and workforce data, validating industry-recognized credentials, and developing career pathways.
Under Executive Director Isla Young, GOWINN has achieved success in several areas over the past year. In late 2020, thanks to the leadership of GOWINN and other key state workforce partners, Nevada received a $13.8 million grant from the Department of Education Stabilization Fund for Project SANDI (Supporting and Advancing Nevada's Dislocated Individuals) to support career pathways for Nevadans who have been adversely affected by the pandemic.
Project SANDI partners will support dislocated, underemployed, and new job seekers through the modernization of the current workforce system and translating skills and work experience into credentials; expand the use of digital platforms, including virtual reality (VR), to remotely offer accelerated training and degree programs at community colleges and public libraries for in-demand occupations; enhance the Nevada Career Explorer career navigation tool; and develop an online, self-paced entrepreneurship module that will be embedded into training and educational programs within the Nevada Community College system.
To further advance work-based learning, GOWINN, in partnership with Nevada works and the Nevada Hospital Association, was awarded a $2.5 million grant in 2020 from the U.S. Department of Labor to support the development of Nevada's healthcare workforce which is suffering from severe shortages. Through this H1-B Rural Healthcare Grant, job training programs will focus on increasing the number of middle- to high-skilled healthcare occupations in the state's high-need northern and rural communities.
Building on this achievement to improve the quality and quantity of the Nevada healthcare workforce, GOWINN partnered with several state and educational entities and Highland Manor Mesquite, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center, in early 2021 to provide a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) to address the shortage of healthcare workers in rural communities. The approval of this program by the State Apprenticeship Council highlights the expansion of non-construction apprenticeship programs and continued efforts to develop partnerships between the public and private sector, encouraged and facilitated by GOWINN.
Expanding apprenticeship opportunities boosted through the $4 million award from the U.S. Department of Labor's State Apprenticeship Expansion, Equity, and Innovation Grant (SAEEI) to launch the Accelerating Nevada Apprenticeship for All (ANAA) project. The grant funds will be used for activities including deploying new and innovative RAPs in health care, advanced manufacturing, and information technology; supporting related technical instruction for apprentices and pre-apprentices; reimbursing employers for On-the-Job-Training expenses; expanding access to apprenticeship for rural populations by offering classroom-based instruction virtually; engaging employers; and recruiting youth, women, people of color, veterans, and persons with disabilities to strengthen diversity equity, and inclusion.
While typically associated with workforce development of adult populations, GOWINN also pursues workforce development efforts that strengthen the alignment of K-12 students and educators with career exploration in Nevada's high-demand industries and career fields. GOWINN and the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) recently announced a multi-year partnership with Nepris, an online, cloud-based platform that virtually connects classrooms with industry professionals all over the U.S. Through this collaboration, all 567 middle and high schools, public or charter, in Nevada will have full access to the Nepris platform. To further support alignment of the state's educators with industry, GOWINN and NDE have again collaborated on a teacher externship program, supported by Tesla and other employers. Through this program, middle and high school teachers will have the opportunity to participate in an immersive experience over the course of two to four days with an employer in a variety of occupational areas. At the conclusion of the externship, teachers will develop lesson plans that highlight the key takeaways from their experience and continue to engage with the employer to organize future interactions with students. The experience provides curriculum relevancy for the educator and their students and provides employers with the opportunity to demonstrate the skills and content most relevant to their workforce demand.
Finally, as the administrative entity responsible for the Governor's Workforce Development Board, GOWINN has coordinated efforts to develop revisions to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) state plan due in 2022. To help inform these current and future revisions to the state plan and lay out a broader vision for workforce development priorities in the state, GOWINN, in partnership with multiple state agencies including DETR, was awarded a Workforce Innovation Fund grant from the National Governor's Association. This additional support will strengthen ideas to systematically reorganize the workforce development system to better serve dislocated workers, support the operationalization of Governor Sisolak's strategic vision of the Nevada Job Force through the development of a state action plan, and create and support innovation in coordination of state, local, non-profit, and private job training to expand delivery and access of services.