Partners

Partner Programs: WIRED

The US Department of Labor launched an ambitious initiative known as Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) that focuses on the role of talent development in driving regional economic competitiveness, increased job growth and new opportunities for American workers.  Awards were made to 13 regions [$15M for a 3-year period, total of $195M], with a second round of 13 regions receiving $5 million over three years.

Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Selected Regions

DOL has enlisted the assistance of the MEP program in conducting pilot programs in eight of the WIRED regions.  The objective of these pilots is to develop and assess best practices for integrating technology transfer/transition and innovation into each of the WIRED region partnership networks.  These best practices will be shared with the other WIRED regions, as well as the entire MEP center system.  These pilots closely align with the Next Generation MEP strategy focused on implementing innovation and technology in small manufacturers and the development of the workforce to support this strategy.

Potential collaborative technology transfer and transition activities for pilot regions’ partnerships include:

• Identification and establishment of broader partnership opportunities
• Implementation, validation, and documentation of exemplary practices
• Contribution to development of regional asset maps
• Evaluation of company-specific technology transfer or transition readiness
• Development and delivery of training/workshops
• Project implementation assistance
• Documentation of successful implementations by manufacturer(s) in region

WIRED Pilot Locations

Additional Resources & Websites