“All LVERs should attend this course, it is very necessary,” says Texas LVER Tracy Robeson from Austin, an LVER for 12 years and a participant in the fourth session of Promoting Partnerships for Employment in February.

NVTI's Partnerships training has been a big hit with participants. Robeson says the course is very up-to-date, and it has to be. The Partnerships course is the cornerstone in implementing the Jobs for Veterans Act, P.L. 107-288 and VETS’ VPL 11-02.

Patricia Sharpe, from Atlanta, agrees. “This course helped me define my roles and responsibilities as a LVER better than before. This class was so very helpful,” she said. These positive comments bring a smile to the face of NVTI's training manager, Jan Trunce.

Trunce says VETS and NVTI worked for several months developing the new course, and the response has been terrific. "Learning how to form and encourage partnerships are learned skills," Trunce said. "We're glad to offer courses that prove to be so beneficial to our audience."

The Partnerships course zeros in on the role of the LVER as outlined in the law and in relation to partners and resources. Participants gain knowledge on how to facilitate a standard presentation of the veterans' law to agencies and One-Stop partners. Getting information on veterans' programs and one stop services to employers is a key focus of the course, as is understanding the overall labor market and how to gather information of value to workforce centers and their partners.

After attending the Partnerships training, participants return home with newly acquired skills to do the job with fresh perspective. An LVER from Utah recently told us that the Partnerships class has helped him to get out and interact with his agency partners and local employers.

Participants learn how to present information about the law to internal partners, such as One-Stop and Workforce Investment Act (WIA) staff, then give brief presentations on portions of the law and answer related questions. A detailed look into labor market information (LMI) and how to use it to understand the community is also presented.

Another key aspect of Partnerships training is marketing and public relations. The value of a proactive campaign for promoting veterans' programs and offices in general is emphasized, as well as how to effectively target the audience, what materials to use and how to develop a positive image. Stand Downs, job fairs and similar events to maximize participation and understanding of programs are analyzed.

In this course, participants do some research as part of an e-learning segment, and prepare a brief presentation for class in Denver based on what they found.

Judging by what our participants are saying so far, it's definitely another worthwhile NVTI training to attend.

by Joel Walter
NVTI Student Employee