Through the XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling competition, teams will collaborate with workforce boards and XPERT advisors to advance new training technologies that lead to jobs paying a living wage and offering opportunities for career growth. During the weeks leading up to our March 8th Qualified Teams announcement, we’re introducing you to the people behind each of the six selected pilot workforce boards through the XPRIZE Meet the Cities blog series. Meet our third partner, West Michigan.

Manufacturing. Administration. Energy. Health sciences. Construction. Information technology. West Michigan Works! (WMW) is busy placing workers into a broad and ever-growing range of industries. 

As an organization, WMW partners with employers, educators, economic developers, and community organizations to build a qualified workforce that meets the region’s current and future talent needs and fuels a shared economic future. As part of the pilot stage of XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling, a $5 million dollar, 30-month competition to quickly reskill under-resourced workers for the digital revolution, WMW will play a role in testing new training and employment technologies across West Michigan.

“There is little question that local business-led workforce boards will play a key role to the nation’s recovery. The agility at the local level is an unmatched quality and coupled with innovation will provide job seekers and businesses much needed help. Few places can match West Michigan Works! for its leadership, innovation, collaboration and passion. It should come as no surprise that they will play an integral part in helping lead us into the future.” - Ron Painter, President and CEO, National Association of Workforce Boards

West Michigan Works! currently helps approximately 65,000 people annually. In the future, with the help of technology that can rapidly train and connect workers, that number could be even higher. Below, we caught up with them about that future, and what excites them most. 

First up, can you tell us more about the unique impact that you provide for workers, businesses, and your community? 

The Michigan Works! system is focused on providing solutions for both employers and talent. We begin with understanding the real talent needs of employers. This ensures that we’re preparing job seekers for real opportunities in the short-term, and creating a pipeline of skilled and qualified talent for the long-term solutions. Working on both ends of the issue means we can have a real impact on individuals, families and communities.

What is the biggest myth about job centers? 

The biggest myth about job centers is that we only work with a specific subset of people, whether that’s people on welfare, people receiving unemployment insurance, or some other generalization. We work with people from all backgrounds and skill levels. We meet them wherever they are on their career journey and help them take their next step on that path. This may mean helping one individual obtain a GED and another use their graduate level degree to connect to a job that meets their skill level and career goals.

What tech-forward innovations or programs is your organization adopting to deconstruct systemic barriers for millions of unemployed workers? 

Continuing to operate under various stay-at-home and work-from-home orders has given us an opportunity to adopt new ways of delivering services. Switching to virtual services isn’t that hard on our end, but ensuring that everyone who needs our services has access and the digital literacy skills to take advantage of those services is another matter. Lack of access to our programs also means that individuals lack access to job searching, work-from-home opportunities, and much, much more. We have been working on ways to address the access issue, even as we’ve worked to make our services accessible.

Learn more about WMW’s services in this successful impact story featuring Hunter Daniels from West Michigan. 

What inspires you about the solutions anticipated from XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling? 

Innovation around issues we are passionate about is inspiring. Creating solutions that impact people’s lives and their communities is beyond exciting. The last few months have highlighted some long-standing disparities in our communities; finding another way to challenge and change them has the potential to create real impact on West Michigan. 

How do you see the solutions offered through XPRIZE helping incumbent and underemployed workers, given West Michigan’s low unemployment?

While the official unemployment rate in West Michigan is low, we know there are many people who are underemployed and unable to support themselves or their families. Due to the demands of work and family, these individuals in particular need easy, flexible access to training that quickly puts them on the path to a high-demand career. We’re really looking forward to connecting these individuals to greater opportunities.

Finally, what are you most radically optimistic about as we move forward after the pandemic? 

Creativity. The creativity of businesses, organizations, and individuals over the last year has been incredibly motivating. This ability to adapt and change and approach old processes and problems in new and fresh ways gives us great hope for the future of work.

Next up: How XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling tech is making a big impact in Worcester, Massachusetts

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Learn more about XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling at rapidreskilling.xprize.org.