City of Sioux Falls Announces Workforce Development Winners

Earlier in 2015, the City of Sioux Falls launched a Workforce Development Pilot Program. The hope was to figure out how to entice people with skills to move into Sioux Falls or encourage the people already here to build on their own abilities.

Dozens of ideas were submitted to the tune of almost $2 million. The proposals that made the cut were announced on Thursday and the City of Sioux Falls will award eight entities combined nearly $441,000 to address workforce development needs.

• Sioux Falls Boy Pulls BB Gun at School

The following organizations were deemed worthy of support along with a brief explanation of their planned usage of the funds:

• Employment Edge ($25,000) - Program to focus on recruiting, screening, and finding jobs for nonviolent offenders recently released from state or federal custody.
• Forward Sioux Falls ($50,000) - Creation of a comprehensive community workforce action plan.
• Globe University ($100,000) - Development of individualized training programs for businesses that incorporate on the job and academic learning.
• Home Builders Association of the Sioux Empire, Associated General Contractors of South Dakota, and Sioux Empire Manufacturers ($50,000) - Creation of mobile training labs to teach construction and manufacturing skills.
• Multi-Cultural Center of Sioux Falls ($70,020) - Workforce training program for immigrants and refugees.
• Sioux Empire Society for Human Resource Management ($34,250) - Will host a community-wide workforce development conference.
• Sioux Falls School District, Career and Technical Education Academy ($12,250) - Electrical skills program that provides post-secondary credit for high school students.
• Training Solutions Institute, a division of Southeast Technical Institute ($99,408) - English language and job skills training for immigrant and ethnic populations

The winners were chosen by an evaluation committee and the City Attorney’s Office. From there, the finalists prepared a presentation with the basic criteria of acceptance being:

1. The level of impact for the proposal.
2. The willingness or investment of the proposer to execute the program.
3. The track record or qualifications to successfully deliver on the promise; and
4. The quality of the interview.

Since about $59,000 is still available from the $500,000 budgeted by the Sioux Falls City Council, applications are still being accepted.