WIB Selected for National Business Learning Partnership Project

The Workforce Investment Board of Southwest Missouri was one of 39 groups selected nationwide to participate in the National Business Learning Partnership (NBLP) through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. NBLP is a breakthrough opportunity for the WIB that will enhance its position through protege-mentor consulting and open doors for high profile federal grants and projects.

NBLP pairs WIBs that have proven track records with areas seeking assistance on particular issues. Through this peer-to-peer learning structure, workforce practitioners learn from one another and replicate best practices across the system. This peer-to-peer learning approach helps transform workforce investment boards so they are truly a player in developing and implementing regional economic growth strategies.

Southwest Missouri’s proposal to participate in NBLP leverages powerful regional initiatives and affiliations such as the Four State Health Professions Consortium and the Missouri-Arkansas Partnership. The true labor market comprises the crossroads of four state corners with both challenges and opportunities. The WIB desires to replicate its impact beyond political borders to become a more effective workforce intermediary. As the WIB builds on its successful economic development foundation, the integration of economic development and workforce partners in neighboring Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma together with Southwest Missouri will provide strategic synergies and positioning to leverage local resources and collaborate on future projects utilizing an innovative, cross-state regional approach.

The National Business Learning Partnership (NBLP) presents the ideal learning and development venue for Workforce Boards and other economic development collaborations that are truly on the verge of greatness. As a prospective protégé, the Southwest Missouri Workforce Investment Board has embraced the next round of the NBLP opportunity to be paired with mentor organizations of similar size, geographic scope, and like-minded drive to innovate and succeed.

For the NBLP, the WIB has identified the Strong and Sustained Strategic Regional Partnerships and the Talent Development Strategies Driving Regional Economic Competitiveness categories as the two with the most synergistic alignment with the WIB’s current position and future prospects for regional impact. While these are separate and unique categories, they closely share the regional development focus to create the impact desired by the WIB.

WIB Executive Director, Jasen Jones, and Career Center Business Representative, Tracy Lemmons, will represent Southwest Missouri in a kick-off training event and match meeting set for November 1-3 in Denver, CO. For more information on NBLP and how it fits with the WIB, visit our website. Frequent updates on the NBLP project will be posted to the WIB’s blog. Information on previous NBLP projects may be found online at Workforce 3_1.