Home >> About Workforce Services Division
Who We Are
Vision and Values
What We Do
Goals & Objectives
How We Spend
How To Tell If We are Successful
About Workforce Services Division
WELCOME to the Workforce Services Division - "Superior Service for a Working Montana, Continuous Improvement for Increased Customer Satisfaction." We are here to develop and maintain a high quality workforce system for the state of Montana that supports and enhances the economic health of the business community as well as to provide a prepared workforce.
As Montana's economy grows, and workforce and work places evolve to adapt
to expanding technologies, we are working to make certain Montana's labor
laws are understood by providing educational forums, local resource rooms, and
proactive communications. Assistance to Business Clinics continue to be conducted
in communities throughout the state each year and the local Job Service Workforce
Centers have expanded to house employer resource rooms.
The Montana Workforce Services Division is an award-winning workforce agency,
receiving numerous nominations at the national level for best practices in the
areas of customer satisfaction and continuous improvement.
Workforce Services Division Organizational Chart
- Continuous Improvement Unit
- Job Service Operations Bureau
- Labor Market Research and Analysis Bureau
- Statewide Workforce Programs and Oversight Bureau
- Workforce Technology Bureau
Continuous Improvement Unit
, Continuous
Improvement Director
The Continuous Improvement Unit is responsible for directing Workforce Services Division organizational development through the Division's Main Thing (Continuous Improvement for Increased Customer Satisfaction) and Core Values (Customer Focus, Individual Responsibility, Individual Growth, Ethics in the Workplace, and Continuous Improvement), and providing growth opportunities for all division employees by designing and coordinating staff training programs, and conducting seminars, workshops, and other presentations on a variety of topics for Division employees.
Continuous Improvement Unit Organizational Chart
Job Service Operations Bureau
Garry Warren, Bureau Chief
Andy Lublin, Assistant Bureau Chief
The Job Service Operations Bureaucoordinates and guides the delivery of workforce development services in local communities. The Bureau assists local managers and staff maintain programs and program delivery systems, local budgets, staffing, performance standards and reporting, and internal performance review. The bureau provides both broad and targeted guidance to local staff related to the One-Stop system, relationships with community partners, and other governmental agencies.
The bureau is divided into two functional areas:
- Local Job Service Workforce Center Managers: This unit consists of 14 local managers and their management teams who oversee the traditional labor exchange, training, contracts, and other community programs in 24 sites across the state. The services are delivered through the Workforce Investment Act system developed by local governing boards and in close cooperation and partnership with members of inter-agency Community Management Teams.
- Budget and Program Management: This unit provides centralized guidance and coordination to JSWC staff in the local delivery of the various individual programs, i.e., Wagner-Peyser, Business Services, Re-employment, TAA VETS, WIA, etc. The unit is also responsible for: tracking JSWC program performance through regular monitoring; developing and maintaining budget and fiscal reports; grant development and monitoring; providing technical assistance and training for local staff; and providing assistance with personnel management and staffing.
Job Service Operations Bureau Organizational Chart
Labor Market Research and Analysis
Bureau
Todd Younkin, Bureau Chief
The Labor Market Research and Analysis Bureau collects, compiles and disseminates labor market information that is used by a wide variety of customers, and works in conjunction with the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Employment and Training Administration to provide information on employment, unemployment, wages, injuries and illnesses, and other labor market information.
The bureau consists of three units:
- The first section is responsible for Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS), Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), and Career Information System (CIS) occupational analysis.
- The second section is responsible for Covered Employment and Wages (QCEW), Current Employment Statistics (CES), Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Statistics and the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), Unemployment Insurance research, the state Prevailing Wage program (little Davis-Bacon), and agricultural and non-agricultural alien certification wage rates.
- The Support Section is responsible for administrative and fiscal responsibilities for the bureau, labor market publications, and technology unit that supports the bureau and maintains the website.
Labor Market Research and Analysis Bureau Organizational Chart
Statewide Workforce
Programs and Oversight Bureau
Gary Wright, Bureau Chief
The Statewide Workforce Programs and Oversight Bureau performs oversight, regulatory, tracking, registration, and support functions statewide for both State and Federal Programs. The bureau compiles, analyzes and reports on system wide performance indictors. It provides guidance on fiscal matters and works for better integration of programs. The bureau is also responsible for Statewide Rapid Response under WIA, State Employee Protection Act, and the State Displaced Homemaker Programs.
The bureau consists of three units:
- Apprenticeship and Training (A & T): The A & T unit is the official registering entity for apprenticeship programs in Montana and oversees all aspects of the Federal program for the state.
- Jobs for Montana Graduates (JMG): The JMG unit provides technical assistance and oversight for this state funded program, which operates under the general provisions of the national program, Jobs for American Graduates (JAG). It provides assistance and grants to over 42 schools in Montana to help meet the needs of difficult to serve students.
- Statewide Workforce Investment Act (WIA): The WIA unit provides oversight, regulation, audit, and technical assistance functions to the State Workforce Board and State Programs.
Statewide Workforce Programs and Oversight Bureau Organizational Chart
Workforce Technology
Bureau
Cathy Shenkle, Bureau Chief
The Workforce Technology Bureau supports central office and local office staff in their computer hardware, software, programming and troubleshooting needs. The bureau supports about 320 staff and over 500 devices (computers, servers and printers).
The bureau consists of two units:
- The Automation Unit responds to requests for customer support - help desk incident tickets, e-mails, telephone calls from central and local office technicians; keeps hardware and software current; is responsible for employee setup and deactivation; network and file server troubleshooting and administration; ensuring state, department and division standards are adhered to; ordering software and equipment; and other functions associated with keeping the network and all its computers running efficiently.
- The Programming Unit is responsible for programming, contracting for and maintaining computer systems for the division such as Montana Works, the internal application system used by local offices for job orders, referrals, recording services, employer information, case management and counseling; Montana Jobs System, the self service internet application where employers search through the database of resumes, and job seekers can register, input a resume and search for jobs; and the Participant Payment System which was set up to track the amount of pays to a participant and to each program that the participant is getting assistance from. This unit also provides systems to generate both federal and state reports.
Workforce Technology Bureau Organizational Chart
Who We Are:
The Workforce Services Division (WSD) is a gateway to government services in the area of employment and training services. WSD is comprised of a team of experts located in a central support office and 24 local Job Service Workforce Center sites throughout the state. Our focus is on developing and maintaining a high quality workforce system for Montana by providing services to demand-driven businesses and job seekers, government officials and entities, the public, and to its own employees.
Workforce Services Divisions Bureau Descriptions and Organizational Charts
Vision and Values:
The Workforce Services Division, through its vision of providing "Superior Service for a Working Montana", believes in continuous improvement for increased customer satisfaction by promoting the Division's core values of ethics in the workplace, individual responsibility, maintaining a customer focus, continuous improvement, and individual growth. All division employees, from front line staff up through the division's administrator, are guided by these values and the Division's Code of Conduct in their work efforts and decision making by living, breathing walking and talking our values each and everyday (for more information on our values, go to http://wsd.dli.mt.gov/service/corevalues.asp; for the Code of conduct, go to http://wsd.dli.mt.gov/service/codeofconduct.asp).
What We Do:
WSD provides all Montanans with community based access to a labor exchange system that assists employers in filling jobs, assists job seekers in finding employment, facilitates the match between job seekers and employers, participates in a job match system between states, provides employment services to individuals receiving unemployment insurance, and assists employers with developing and implementing effective human resource practices.
WSD performs rapid response, retraining and reemployment services for laid-off workers, facilitates the application process for employers in need of obtaining foreign workers, and employment and training services for people transitioning from welfare to work, as well as for youth, veterans, migrant/seasonal farm workers, and general job seekers.
WSD provides oversight, regulatory, tracking, registration and support functions statewide for the federal Workforce Investment Act, the Jobs for Montana's Graduates program, and registered Apprenticeship programs.
WSD is responsible for data collection, analysis, dissemination, and reporting of labor market and career information, core products, and other areas managed by the division using paper and electronic formats.
WSD establishes rates for the state prevailing wage law and for alien labor certification purposes.
WSD provides business and information technology guidance, process analysis, statistical analysis, budget development, fiscal and management analysis, administrative and clerical support and the infrastructure needed to support the central and field offices throughout the state.
How We Spend:
WSD partners with other public and private organizations to maximize services available to communities.
WSD is a responsible steward of public money. Being primarily federally funded, WSD passes funds through to community-based Job Service Workforce Centers to the largest extent possible as a way to effectively support community needs.
How To Tell If We Are Successful:
WSD compiles, analyzes and reports on system-wide performance indicators as well as program progress and results to the legislative and executive branches (both state and federal) relating to programs for which the division has responsibility.
In the spirit of continuous improvement and to be responsive to our customers changing needs, WSD continually assess our customers (both internal and external) through surveys, monitoring, and more informal verbal questions, and acts on information gathered.
