Workforce Development ~ City of Oakland, California

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Workforce Investment Board

Oakland Workforce Investment Board logo

The Oakland Workforce Investment Board (WIB) oversees the federally-funded employment and training programs and services in Oakland. These programs and services help job seekers gain employment and connect businesses with a qualified workforce.

Click here to access the Oakland WIB's Strategic Plan 2012-2014.

Click here to learn more about how Oakland Businesses can help make the 2013 Mayor's Summer Jobs Program a success!!

Funding Opportunities - RFPs Released

Current RFP

The West Oakland Job Resource Center RFP was released on April 19th, 2013. The mandatory pre-proposal (bidders') conference will be held on Friday April 26th at 11:00am in Hearing Room 3, City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogaway Plaza Oakland CA 94612.

The due date for submissions for the West Oakland Job Resource Center is Tuesday, May 21st, 2013. All proposals are to be delivered to: Office of the City Administrator, Contracts and Compliance Division, 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza, 3rd floor, Suite 3341, Oakland, CA 94612. Proposals must be received and time stamped by Contracts and Compliance staff no later than 2:00pm.

The West Oakland Job Resource Center RFP is available here.

Recent RFPs

The Oakland Workforce Investment Board (Oakland WIB) released Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for the Comprehensive One Stop Career Center, Neighborhood Career Centers including the West Oakland Career Center, Employer Services, and Youth Service Provider contracts funded under the Title I of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

A mandatory pre-proposal (Bidder's) Conference will be held on Wednesday, October 31, 2012, 2:00pm, City Hall, Hearing Room 3, 1st floor, Oakland, CA 94612. Please note the change in location.

The due date and time for submission of proposals for all four RFPs is , Monday, January 7, 2013, 2:00pm. Please note that this is a revised date. All proposals are to be delivered to: Office of the City Administrator, Contracts and Compliance Division, 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza, 3rd floor, Suite 3341, Oakland, CA 94612. Proposals must be received and time stamped by Contracts and Compliance staff no later than 2:00pm.

For more information on these RFPs, as well as the Day Laborer Program RFP and West Oakland Job Resource Center RFP, please click here to visit our RFP page.

Services for Adult Job Seekers

WIB's network of One-Stop Career Centers can help you find a job. Whether you were recently laid off or are re-entering the workforce after raising a family, the centers help you improve your qualifications and bring you together with employers who will benefit from your skills.

Each center provides the entry point to free employment services that will prepare you for and connect you to many great jobs and careers. Click Here for more information on our One-Stop Career Center, job fairs, and other resources for adult job seekers.

WIA Youth Services

Services for Youth Job Seekers

The WIB funds and supports a variety of programs that provide employment and educational training and support to Oakland youth ages 14 to 21. These programs are designed to help youth prepare for the world of work by gaining valuable skills, experience and confidence, while becoming empowered in their pursuit of career, academic and personal goals. Please see the WIB Youth Services page for more information.

Each year the WIB collaborates with our program partners and the Office of the Mayor to coordinate the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program (MSJP). This year the MSJP will helped hundreds of youth to learn valuable job search skills, while securing summer employment and internships at local businesses for hundreds of our program participants. All youth who enter the program participate in pre-employment workshops to prepare them for success on the job. Many youth who have participated in previous years have been offered continued employment with satisfied companies. Please see the Mayor's Summer Jobs Program web page on this site for more information.

Services for Employers

Through its service providers, WIB helps connect Oakland businesses with our large, diverse applicant pool, qualified to fill openings across industries, in positions from entry-level to professional. Our free services include:

· Recruitment Assistance including Job Fairs

· Assistance for staff layoffs including State compliance requirements

· Connecting businesses with qualified job candidates to fill your hiring needs

The Oakland Private Industry Council is the primary provider of Business Services within the Oakland workforce system. Please visit their website or contact Lowell Rice, Business Services Manager at (510) 768-4466 or Ann Chan, Rapid Response Manager at (510) 768-4431 for further assistance. In addition, the EASTBAY Works web site provides links to numerous information sources in a range of areas of interest to businesses.

About WIB

As mandated by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, the Mayor is ultimately responsible for the administration of federal job training funds in Oakland and therefore appoints the board positions on the Oakland WIB. A majority of these positions are reserved for business-sector leaders. The Oakland WIB currently has 43 members. Generally speaking, the Mayor and the WIB share equal authority according to the federal legislation. The Oakland City Council and its Community & Economic Development Committee oversee program performance through the Job Training Performance Standards System. Council authorizes the City Administrator to appropriate funding and enter into contracts with service providers.

Click here to view a roster of WIB members. [To be updated soon]

Click here to view WIB Staff Directory. {To be updated soon]

For dates and times of upcoming WIB and committee meetings, please go to the web sections linked below:

Click here to view WIB Agendas & Minutes. [To be updated soon]

In addition to an Executive Committee, the WIB has three standing subcommittees:

Employer Strategies Committee (formerly Business Services Committee)
Systems Leadership Committee (combined One Stop Leadership and Quality Assurance Committees)
Youth Council

Research and Publications

The Oakland WIB develops policy based on promising practices and findings from leading workforce development research.

To view our collection of research papers, articles and other information, click here to visit our research page.

“Pathways Out of Poverty for Vulnerable Californians: Policies that Prepare the Workforce for Middle-Skill Infrastructure Jobs” by PolicyLink, September 2010

This report, authored by Victor Rubin, PolicyLink Vice President, and Rubén Lizardo, Associate Director, examines the growing demand for "middle-skill" jobs – those requiring more than a high school diploma but less than a bachelor’s degree – within the state’s infrastructure sector. Their research identified at least 773, 611 current middle-skill, high-paying jobs across the state, a crucial stepping stone to the middle-class for many low-income workers or people of color

"Tuning In to Local Labor Markets: Findings From the Sectoral Employment Impact Study”, by Sheila Maguire, Joshua Freely, Carol Clymer, Maureen Conway and Deena Schwartz - July 2010, 78 pages

Over the past two decades, an innovative approach to workforce development known as sectoral employment has emerged, resulting in the creation of industry-specific training programs that prepare unemployed and underskilled workers for skilled positions and connect them with employers seeking to fill such vacancies. In 2003, with funding from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, P/PV launched the Sectoral Employment Impact Study to rigorously assess whether mature, nonprofit-led sector-focused programs could increase the earnings of disadvantaged workers and job seekers. The study's findings show that program participants earned about $4,500—18 percent—more than the control group over the course of the two-year study period and $4,000—29 percent—more in the second year alone. Study participants were also more likely to find employment, work more consistently, work in jobs that paid higher wages, and work in jobs that offered benefits. Furthermore, the report also examines the strategies employed by the three organizations that took part in the study, as well as the common elements that likely contributed to their success. Implications for practice, policy and future research are explored; a forthcoming piece will provide detailed recommendations for policymakers.

“Oakland Workforce Investment Board: A Scan of the Current Workforce Landscape” by Rogéair Purnell, RDP Consulting and Duane Poe, Solutions 4 Communities – July 1, 2010

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