Main Street Oshkosh

Linked below is a survey for the Oshkosh Area Workforce Development center. The workforce board is seeking community input regarding the current and future services to be provided by the Oshkosh Workforce Development Center.


The survey should be completed by Friday, February 5th!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VVLWYMR


Several ideas include:

1. There is a real need for accessible and regular basic computer training. While programming may be available at the tech, many folks aren't going to formally enroll in a semester long class nor can they pay for such services. However, individuals with limited mobility really need to have basic to intermediate computer skills to succeed in many of the available positions in our area.

2. Extended hours. Budgets are very tight indeed. However, many folks have school, work, or other commitments between 8am and 4:30pm. Job search, employment preparedness, and many of the other features of the center are just as valuable at 7pm as they are at 9am.

3. Sense of Place. Appleton/Fox Vally has a beautiful center which people can be proud of. Oshkosh, due to the renting factor, is stuck with landlords who won't do anything. Let's have the county, city, and community make a real investment into workforce development and develop a state of the art facility that people of all walks are comfortable entering.

4. I still hold on to the idea of the one stop shop. One place where a family can go to get information and services concerning all things in the city: workforce assistance, social security help, legal consultation, disability assistance, food assistance, housing resources, medical care information, school programming information, workshops and trainings, financial counseling, and more. The WDC is the ideal place to do this, and many of the services are already happening. Anyone that has visited the Fox Cities WDC recognizes the great strides the Oshkosh WDC could still take.

5. Website relevance. The current website - www.oshkoshwdc.com/index - has loads of information that is of great use to the community. However, it is very hard to tell from the website what services are offered on site. In addition, the stale front page suggests that the site is rarely updated, which isn't true as they are now maintaining updates of workshops and testings. The main page on the site should include a news and updates focus so that people can quickly see what's happening there.

6. While we're at it - the WDC has a nice sign on the front corner now complete with a red scrolling words on a screen. Let's actually use that to say something beyond "workshops available".

7. Expand education and technical training connection - Let's get Fox Valley Tech far more involved at the center, making sure most users of the center are well aware of the various educational and training avenues available at the tech as well as the funding assistance options offered.

8. Under no circumstances should we eliminate this valuable community resource.