Michigan Works! Southwest, in partnership with Pulse, has been selected to participate in the USDOL’s Job Quality Academy

Michigan Works! Southwest, in partnership with Pulse, is excited to announce selection to participate in the United States Department of Labor’s Job Quality Academy, alongside 15 other teams, selected competitively, representing communities across the nation. The Job Quality Academy was designed and will be operated in partnership by the USDOL and Jobs For the Future, and presents a unique opportunity to help the workforce system focus on enhancing good jobs and opportunities for workers.

The Academy will begin in June and include two 3-day in-person summits in Washington DC. These summits will focus on helping teams define job quality within their communities; embed good jobs principles into policies, partnerships, and programs; develop localized frameworks for use by partners, including employers; and develop methods and tools for assessing progress. Between summits, the Michigan Works! Southwest and Pulse team, consisting of Jakki Bungart-Bibb, Amy Meyers, Ashley Iovieno, Kathy Szenda-Wilson, and Maria Ortiz Borden, as well as non-travel partners, including Kelli Adams from Employer Resource Network, will apply and test strategies that fit the local communities, have access to coaching, and opportunities to brainstorm with each other about what works, what doesn’t and what matters most when implementing job quality theories in practice.

Michigan Works! Southwest and Pulse are excited for the opportunity to participate in the Academy and will be focusing on how to apply the strategies focused on childcare.