What is the Washington Jobs Initiative?

The Washington Jobs Initiative (WJI) focuses on developing a skilled workforce and ensuring that Washington remains competitive and successful in the 21st-century global economy.

Washington state, through its proposal for the Goods Jobs Challenge federal grant, successfully secured $23.5 million to train 5,000 Washington residents, with a goal of placing at least 3,150 individuals into jobs by 2025. The Good Jobs Challenge from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) is making unprecedented investments in locally-led workforce systems to significantly transform American communities. Prioritizing equity, the program aims to broaden career opportunities, enabling more Americans to realize their full potential and secure well-paying jobs.

The Washington Jobs Initiative (WJI) focuses on developing a skilled workforce and ensuring that Washington remains competitive and successful in the 21st century global economy.
The Washington Jobs Initiative (WJI) focuses on developing a skilled workforce and ensuring that Washington remains competitive and successful in the 21st century global economy.

What is the Washington Jobs Initiative?

The Washington Jobs Initiative (WJI) focuses on developing a skilled workforce and ensuring that Washington remains competitive and successful in the 21st-century global economy.

Washington state, through its proposal for the Goods Jobs Challenge federal grant, successfully secured $23.5 million to train 5,000 Washington residents, with a goal of placing at least 3,150 individuals into jobs by 2025. The Good Jobs Challenge from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) is making unprecedented investments in locally-led workforce systems to significantly transform American communities. Prioritizing equity, the program aims to broaden career opportunities, enabling more Americans to realize their full potential and secure well-paying jobs.

Washington Jobs Initiative & CCW

Leveraging existing Career Connect Washington partnerships and programs, WJI utilized competitive awards to invest in industry sector partnerships. These efforts will provide training, incorporate paid work-based learning, and guide Washington residents toward career pathways leading to quality jobs with family-sustaining wages.

Meet the Washington Jobs Initiative Sectoral Partnerships

The Washington Jobs Initiative will enhance the CCW infrastructure by building sectoral partnerships in five high-demand sectors: advanced manufacturing and aerospace; construction; energy and clean technology; healthcare; and information technology and cybersecurity. These new partnerships are designed to place Washington residents into jobs and strengthen the state’s workforce and economy.

Click on a “+”  below to learn more about a sectoral partnership.

The Construct a Career Initiative (CCI) focuses on the construction industry, specifically targeting construction and extraction occupations with state-registered apprenticeships statewide. The CCI is the second phase of a construction apprenticeship awareness and equitable access campaign that began with a Career Connect Washington (CCW) funded project. The CCI will provide targeted outreach to underrepresented populations, case management-level support to prospective apprentices, including childcare access, and a statewide network for construction career pathways.

The Training Resulting In Advancing Good Jobs and Equity (TRIAGE) sectoral partnership consists of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and Multi-Employer Training Fund (Training Fund), Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, Kaiser Permanente, MultiCare, Providence Swedish, Seattle Job Initiative (SJI), Workforce Central, the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council (WDC), Arivva, Washington State Allied Health Center of Excellence, the City of Seattle Office of Economic Development and City of Tacoma. TRIAGE consists of programs developed with employers to address identified skills gaps and employ diverse individuals who enter healthcare jobs via nontraditional educational pathways in high-demand occupations.

Healthcare Talent Pipeline Development (HCTPD) is a bi-regional partnership between the local workforce boards in Spokane and Southwest Washington. HCTPD will build on public-private, collaborative, sector-based workforce initiatives in specific entry-level occupations into living wage, career pathway employment opportunities. The project will be led by Spokane Workforce Council (SWC), the local workforce development board for Spokane County.

The Aerospace and Manufacturing Sectoral Partnership (AMSP) builds upon and formalizes existing partnerships between a broad array of training and supportive service providers, community-based organizations, labor-management partnerships, government agencies, and employers operating across Washington state. AMSP brings together partners that individually work closely and frequently with industry and educational partners—including the AWB Institute and Center of Excellence for Marine Manufacturing and Technology—to ensure training and apprenticeship curriculum and instruction are meeting the standards and needs of aerospace and manufacturing employers.

JumpStart King County is a program under King County Green Jobs that will develop a diverse, skilled workforce in the Clean Technology & Energy Sector. JumpStart’s training component strategy leverages traditional training programs and skills for applicable technology in the clean energy industry, specifically heat pumps and solar. Participants will complete each training component to make them the most marketable candidates for roles essential to clean energy deployment.

Manufacturing WORKS Pierce aims to strengthen the manufacturing workforce and is a partnership with economic development partners, community training organizations, and employers that includes WorkForce Central’s Business Solutions, AJAC, Clover Park Technical College, and Bates Technical College. Manufacturing WORKS Pierce pathways will focus on building and training a talent pipeline and ensuring equitable access to good jobs within the manufacturing sector.

The Pierce-Spokane Construction WORKS partnership takes a dual approach to meeting the needs of the construction workforce in Pierce and Spokane Counties. WORKS maintains a focus on training pathways into good construction jobs and specializes in recruiting workers who, with navigation, coaching, and employer connection support, are ready to directly enter into an apprenticeship pathway and/or good construction job. This partnership is made up of over a dozen construction employers who share a common need – a steady and more resilient workforce.

The Washington Technology Workforce Coalition is led by Computing for All. The Coalition is composed of community, education, government, industry, and workforce partners with the common goal to cultivate a diverse, highly skilled technology workforce throughout Washington state as demonstrated by support from industry, education, community, and workforce partners. The Coalition will provide strategic guidance and support for the tech sector and tech roles, clarify industry demand, participate in the development and implementation of programs to holistically answer demand and realize job placements, and ensure opportunity and priority for underserved and underrepresented populations.

Resources for Sectoral Partnerships

Click on a “+”  below to learn more about resources.