Business Solutions

We bring together businesses, training and education providers, government agencies and economic development partners to address the workforce needs of local companies and industries.

Programs we funded help businesses recruit, train and retain the employees they need and provide people the skills and training to find work or advance in their careers.

manufacturing
construction
health-care
technology

Business Solutions

We bring together businesses, training and education providers, government agencies and economic development partners to address the workforce needs of local companies and industries.

Programs we funded help businesses recruit, train and retain the employees they need and provide people the skills and training to find work or advance in their careers.

manufacturing
construction
health-care
technology

Your business may benefit from the following programs and services provided through WSW and its partners.

Employee Recruitment & Retention

Finding and hiring the right people can be time consuming. Once you have the right people, keeping their skills current so they remain productive and your company is competitive can be challenging.

Whether you have a full human resources team or one person wearing many hats, WSW-funded programs may provide the solutions you need.

 Business Growth

WSW is dedicated to connecting our local businesses with resources to ensure sustainable growth. Whether you need technical assistance with government contracting, process improvements, capital, a larger location or export growth, WSW can help you make the connections you need.

Prep Cook Bootcamp

The Prep Cook Bootcamp is a partnership between Workforce Southwest Washington, Russell Brent of Community at Heart Hospitality and local Southwest Washington businesses. For businesses, this training addressed the worker shortage the hospitality industry is facing. The training aimed to help businesses recruit and retain quality workers by making them feel welcome and set up for success and providing ongoing mentorship after placement. Local businesses signed on to interview candidates that completed the trainings and to provide quality wages to those they hired on.

For participants, the training includes knife handling, kitchen safety, basic cooking principles, teamwork, food handler permit, ServSafe certification and direct leads to employment.

The training provides a triple win for the community, providing companies with employees, workers with a career with purpose and a community with more people in the workforce.

The first Prep Cook Bootcamp cohort took place in November 20-23, 2021. The second cohort will took place in March 2022.

To learn more, contact:

Darcy Hoffman, Director of Business Services at dhoffman@workforcesw.org or 360.608.4949 or submit a request and we’ll contact you.

Targeted Industries

When job-producing industries thrive, so does the community. Ensuring that high-growth industries have the skilled workers they need for their high-demand jobs is vital for the prosperity of those businesses and the health of the region’s economy.

WSW invests in training to prepare people for current and future jobs in industries projected to grow in the next few years. Our goal is to ensure businesses have the workers they need and everyone that wants to work has a job.

Learn more about the region’s targeted industries, including:

Hiring Young People

SummerWorks

Click here for an overview of our SummerWorks program.

SummerWorks connects your business to young adults for paid summer jobs.

The program provides your company with:

  • Qualified, prepared and motivated talent ages 16-21
  • Talent that is pre-screened to fit with your company and ready to start work
  • Young adults to assist with a diverse array of job duties or project-based assignments

Hiring a young person for a summer job provides your company with a unique opportunity to invest in your future workforce and help create a trained and experienced candidate pool.

Learn more about SummerWorks

Your business could benefit in a number of ways:

  1. Staff professional development. Working with young people is an opportunity for your employees to develop their management, leadership and communications skills.
  2. Recruitment. Summer employment lets you see the abilities of potential candidates and train them to your standards.
  3. Engage an important audience. Your company’s participation increases awareness of your business with this potential customer base and talent pool.
  4. Gain a fresh perspective. Young employees can bring innovative and novel ways of thinking to your business.
  5. “Feel good” factor. Employee engagement could increase when they feel they’ve had a role in helping a young person succeed.

Investing your time, knowledge and expertise to help a young person learn the skills necessary to get and keep a job benefits our young adults, your business and the economy. That’s a pretty good ROI!

Contact Senior Program Manager Nolan Yaws-Gonzalez at nyaws-gonzalez@workforcesw.org or 360.567.1066.

Future Leaders Project (FLP)

Companies now have a homegrown source for new talent. Through the Future Leaders Project (FLP), businesses can access up-and-coming talent through 200-hour internships of WSU Vancouver juniors and seniors.

Businesses gain access to students with diverse backgrounds and new perspectives by providing students from historically underrepresented communities with paid internships and professional and leadership development opportunities, enabling the students to build social capital to further their careers.

Companies participating in the FLP are committed to strengthening and developing diverse leaders for our region by providing pathways along with professional development opportunities for students of color, individuals with disabilities, and other non-traditional aspiring leaders.

The FLP is an initiative of Workforce Southwest Washington (WSW), Columbia River Economic Development Council (CREDC) and Washington State University Vancouver (WSU Vancouver). It was developed to help students from historically underrepresented and marginalized communities advance, not only in college but in their future professions.

In 2021, The Oregonian wrote a spotlight on the Future Leaders Project, featuring perspectives from companies and the interns they hosted. Read more here.

Businesses interested in learning more about the FLP and hosting interns, please contact our Senior Project Manager Nolan Yaws-Gonzalez at nyaws-gonzalez@workforcesw.org or 360.567.1066.

WSU Vancouver students should contact Bill Stahley, WSU Vancouver Employer Engagement Coordinator at bstahley@wsu.edu or 360.546.9273.

Apprenticeships, Internships & Other Business + Youth Programs

Young adults are your company’s workforce of tomorrow. Interacting with them today can benefit your business by ensuring the best and the brightest are aware of your company, what you do, why it matters and how they can be part of it.

To get involved and learn about opportunities to connect with young adults, contact Lyn Love, Program Manager at LLove@workforcesw.org.

Young Adult carpenters
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