June 19, 2009 – The Tulsa World reports U.S. Cellular’s customer service center in Tulsa wants to fill 80 customer service representative positions.
The company is accepting applications and interviewing applicants until September.
June 15, 2009-- The Tulsa World reports the graduation rate for most Oklahoma students is slightly higher than the national average, according to the Diplomas Count 2009 study by Education Week magazine.
The study, conducted during the 2005-06 school year, puts the overall graduation rate for Oklahoma at 70.6% and the national average at 69.2%.
Oklahoma is also outpacing the national average for increases in student graduation rates over the last decade, with the state’s rate growing at 3.6% between 1996 and 2006 versus the national rate at 2.8%, according to the World. June 11, 2009 – The Tulsa World reports Oklahoma’s clean-energy industry added jobs over a 10-year period according to a recent Pew Charitable Trusts study.
Oklahoma’s mix of clean-energy businesses, including wind and geothermal efforts, grew by 6.8% from 1998-2007, reports the World. Oklahoma employs nearly 5,500 people in jobs supporting renewable power sources.
Venture capitalists have poured more than $5 million into Oklahoma clean-energy projects over the past three years. These projects included wind, geothermal and biofuels. Funds Will Be Used to Design Safety Standard
May 12, 2009 -- The Oklahoma Department of Commerce was recently awarded a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a wind technician safety curriculum to be designed and implemented with the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education and the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education.
"This U.S. Department of Energy grant and the wind industry training program to be developed fit perfectly with Oklahoma’s strategy to become a hub of wind industry activity--manufacturing, research, and education," said Commerce Secretary Natalie Shirley. "The state-of-the-art wind industry safety program will be the latest in an ongoing effort by Commerce, CareerTech, and the State Regents Office to train a new generation of renewable energy workers and create green career pathways for Oklahomans."
March 16, 2009 -- The Francis Tuttle Technology Center, which is one of Oklahoma’s nationally recognized CareerTech campuses, recently became the latest educational institution in the state to offer wind industry related training.
The center’s wind turbine technician program offers a seven-week, 215-hour course that includes enhanced OSHA 30 training, tower rescue, tools and torque technology, and Electrical I studies. Classes, which will be held Monday thru Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., start May 4 at the Portland Campus in Oklahoma City. To enroll, visit www.frienergy.com. March 16, 2009 -- Sitel, a leading global business process outsourcing provider, is expanding its customer care facility in Bartlesville. The 34,000-square foot facility will add 330 associates to its staff.
In an effort to recruit employees to meet the growing demand, Sitel has partnered with the Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce and the Bartlesville Development Corporation. The newly hired Bartlesville associates will support the recent expansion of a leading home warranty company that has outsourced their inbound customer support services to Sitel.
Prospective agents that are interested in joining the talented team in Bartlesville are invited to apply via www.sitel.com or call 918-338-5500.
| This plan is part of the re-designation of the Central Oklahoma Workforce area and is available for comment. For more information, contact Terry Watson.
 COWIB Re-designation - Plan Modification NEW!
Oklahoma will be submitting the following as a part of our State Plan modification describing strategies to respond to the economic downturn and implementation of the Recovery Act. For more information, contact Lydia Johnson.
State Plan Modification Oklahoma will be submitting the following waiver requests as a part of our State Plan modification describing strategies to respond to the economic downturn and implementation of the Recovery Act. This modification is due June 30, 2009.
Comments will be accepted through the close of business on June 10, 2009 and should be directed to Lydia Johnson.
Four Waiver Requests This workshop included panelists representing national and state energy offices discussing what green jobs mean to Oklahoma communities.
Growing in Green Workshop Folder NEW!  Steven Hendrickson is Chairman of the Governor's Council for Workforce & Economic Development and Director of State and Local Government Relations for Boeing Company. Throughout the year Hendrickson will share his thoughts on the most important economic and workforce issues facing Oklahoma's future.
Grow Oklahoma Editorials If the WIA and the OESC and the LWIB and the GATB leave you in a FLUX, then this handy list of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) acronyms and definitions is just what you need. Learn what a Workforce Investment Board (WIB) does for your community and get the official definition of the "working poor." In the complex world of workforce development, you don't want to be without this valuable guide.
Workforce Acronyms and Definitions
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