Brazos Valley Workforce Board Background
The mission of the Brazos Valley Workforce is to provide an exceptional, customer focused, and continually improving workforce development system in the Brazos Valley region that exceeds customer expectations and enhances the availability of skilled, productive workers that exceeds customer expectations and enhances the availability of skilled, productive workers that supports the Region's overall education and economic development strategy. The Region consists of seven counties; Brazos, Washington, Burleson, Leon, Madison, Grimes and Robertson. A volunteer Board represents the Region with the majority of the membership representing the private sector. Other Board members represent educational organizations, community based organizations, organized labor agencies, public assistance agencies, public employment services, vocational rehabilitation agencies, adult basic and continuing education organizations, the local literacy organization and economic development agencies. The Board was certified by Texas Workforce Commission on June 25, 1996 and has performed successfully over the past eleven years. The Board manages over 9.5 million state dollars annually through seven one-stop centers, multiple contractors and vendors. Each county has a one-stop center for local residents. Multiple partnerships with various organizations and agencies allows for comprehensive service delivery. A Regional Business Services Team provides local businesses and industry clusters with various human resource solutions. The Board's fiscal and administrative agent is the Brazos Valley Council of Governments, which allows for coordination of services with other support agencies to save costs and avoid duplication. The Board does long term planning every two years. This is followed by an annual review to modify and update goals and objectives to address achieving its vision and mission. Annual review of these goals is open for public input and review, then published as part of the Board's integrated service plan on www.bvjobs.org. Between March 2003 and January 2004 this web site listing workforce services was visited 512,408 times. The continued efforts the Board makes to partner organizations to meet the needs of business, job seekers and the community as a whole is resulting in continually improving services. For the future the Brazos Valley Workforce will continue to initiate and support workforce projects that align with the Board's vision of excellence and responsiveness to meeting the workforce needs of the Region.
Brazos Valley Quality Workforce Planning, Inc. Background
The Brazos Valley Quality Workforce Planning, Inc. a 501 3C non-profit organization was instrumental in the formation of the Brazos Valley Workforce Development Board. The Brazos Valley Quality Workforce Planning, Inc was the first fiscal entity named by Texas Workforce Commission for the Brazos Valley Region to receive a grant for capacity building to develop a local workforce board. In 1996 the local Workforce Board was certified by TWC and received the contracts for employment services under the Workforce Investment Act, the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and Food Stamp Employment & Training. In 1999 the Brazos Valley Quality Workforce Planning Inc. was again instrumental in hosting the development of another local Board called the Employer Dependent Care Coalition. Under this grant the new Coalition. sought to To reinforce the capacity, knowledge, and skills of local participants, employer collaborative, and related providers to achieve dependent care service improvements, To achieve measurable improvement in three areas: local employer collaborative membership levels, employers' financial commitment to dependent care improvement projects, and the organizational structure and planning of local employer collaborative, including coordination with the Local Workforce Development Board; and To facilitate tangible improvements in community dependent care services. Unfortunately due to an economic downturn this coalition was not successful in it's development. The BVQWP stands ready to accept all donations from private individuals or businesses who would like to support continued development of the Brazos Valley Workforce needs.
