About OWINN

The Nevada Office of Workforce Innovation (OWINN), 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, OWINN 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.

The charter for Office of Workforce Innovation is to drive a skilled, diverse, and aligned workforce by promoting cooperation and collaboration among all entities in the Nevada workforce ecosystem. The OWINN team accomplishes this mission by convening and collaborating with statewide partners to increase community engagement and identifying data-informed solutions and best practices that help all Nevadans reach their employment potential. 

OWINN serves all facets of workforce development, whether it is assisting individuals obtain quality short-term credentials for in-demand occupations through Project SANDI funding, inviting business leaders to engage with the public workforce system through the Governor’s Workforce Development Board, or leveraging longitudinal data through the Nevada P-20 to Workforce Research Data System (NPWR) to track outcomes of Nevadans from K-12 to higher education to the workforce. OWINN builds connections with paramount partners and utilizes best practices to find innovative ways to serve Nevadans.

Senate Bill 516, passed by the 79th legislature and signed into law by Governor Sandoval in 2017 establishes the Office of Workforce Innovation for a New Nevada (OWINN). Section 20 (d) directs OWINN, in consultation with the Governor’s Workforce Development Board to “…identify industry-recognized credentials, workforce development programs and education…” The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) also gives priority consideration to training that leads to industry-recognized credentials. Furthermore, AB 7, also passed during the 79th legislative session, provides for the state board of education to adopt regulations that prescribe the criteria for a pupil to receive a college and career ready high school diploma; and, provides for the state board of education to prescribe the criteria for a pupil to obtain a college-ready endorsement and/or a career-ready endorsement on his/her diploma that is established so that it is recognized and valued by industries and postsecondary educational institutions.