Worker Re-Employment

Rapid Response

Our rapid strategies for success make us the first place employers turn to help them ease into successful transitions.

In tough economic times, the workforce system coordinates efforts to provide "rapid response" presentations to businesses and workers being affected by workforce reductions. These presentations provide workers with information on services available within their communities to assist them in their time of transition. Presentation topics range from childcare to unemployment and are provided by many of our workforce system partner agencies in several languages.

If you are an employer facing layoffs or closing a facility, the South Central Wisconsin Job Centers along with the Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin are available to offer valuable services and information to you and your affected employees.

For more information and resources available to your organization and your workforce, see our Layoff Aversion and Assistance section. 

Transitional Jobs

The Transitional Jobs Program is a temporary, paid work experience program designed to help low-income workers develop new skills and work experience needed to secure family-sustaining jobs. The program aims to place 375 eligible workers in Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Jefferson, Marquette, and Sauk counties at work experience sites through June 30, 2012.

The program provides employers with an opportunity to reinvest in their communities by providing a quality work site for workers to acquire and develop skills needed to enter the workforce. The program is supported through a partnership with the State of Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. For more information, see our Transitional Jobs section.

On-the-Job Training (OJT)

The On-the-Job Training (OJT) program is a training strategy geared toward local employers and job seekers.  It provides an opportunity to put dislocated workers back to work earning a wage while receiving training.  Under OJT, employers hire Workforce Investment Act (WIA) eligible individuals and train them on-the-job.  In return, employers can be reimbursed for the costs associated with training this new employee.  This program is offered in partnership with the State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. For more information, see our On-the-Job Training Program section.

Windows to Work

Windows to Work is a program designed to help inmates at the Oakhill Correctional Facility who are about to  be released into the South Central Workforce Development area search for and secure employment to ensure successful reintegration into the community after release.

The program seeks to reduce recidivism in the South Central counties of Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Jefferson, Marquette, and Sauk.  The objectives are to provide individual case management for each inmate or parolee with the goal of increasing employability skills and employment opportunities to reduce the risk of reoffending and create safer communities in South Central Wisconsin.

The program will begin working with inmates six months prior to their release and offer education and training in the following areas:

• Problem-solving skills
• Financial literacy
• Criminal and addictive behavior
• Interpersonal relationships
• Application and résumé completion
• General work skills and expectations
• Job-seeking and attainment skills
• Interview preparation

Follow-up work will continue for a minimum of one year after release to ensure long-term success and lower the risk of reoffending.

This voluntary program seeks to aid participants who are within six months of release, have shown a commitment to education, and are regarded as being at high risk for reoffending, with priority given to candidates who are between 18-30 years old, have children, and/or have completed a GED/HSED.

Windows to Work is funded by the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections via the Becky Young Recidivism Reduction Appropriation.  To aid in this effort, the WDBSCW is contracting with the Madison Urban Ministry (www.emum.org), an organization that has been providing prisoner reentry services in the Madison area since 1999.