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Visit part of study by Governor’s Task Force on Minority Unemployment
MILWAUKEE – Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Reggie Newson today toured Victory Personnel Services, a successful, minority staffing agency, as part of a bipartisan effort Governor Walker initiated to address high unemployment among minorities.
“Joblessness among minorities is a long-standing issue we are addressing through the Governor’s Task Force on Minority Unemployment,” Lt Governor Kleefisch said. “We are meeting with minority-owned businesses to learn more about ways we may increase employment opportunities for minorities and provide employers with the skilled workers they need to fill available jobs.”
Lt. Governor Kleefisch and state Representative Elizabeth Coggs, a Milwaukee Democrat, are co-chairs of the 22-member panel formed in April. As Governor Walker directed, the panel is working to review workforce training programs in the Milwaukee area, identify best practices, and recommend a skills pipeline to prepare and connect unemployed minorities, black males in particular, with employment opportunities.
“With his Transform Milwaukee initiative, Governor Walker is working to create jobs and make Milwaukee an economic powerhouse once again,” Secretary Newson said. “The work of the task force is critical to ensuring that all communities and neighborhoods in Milwaukee have employment opportunities, now and in the future. Unemployment among black males in Milwaukee is unacceptably high, and by learning from Victory Personnel Services and others, we can pursue real solutions.”
In May, Governor Walker announced Transform Milwaukee, a more than $100 million initiative to rebuild the city’s workforce, strengthen its manufacturing sector and in doing so, revitalize neighborhoods. The collaborative effort involves at the state level, DWD, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority and the Department of Children and Families, working with the City of Milwaukee and private foundations.
Founded in 1992 by Joe Tucker, Victory Personnel Services has become a full service staffing solutions provider. The first major initiative of the successful, award winning agency was the development of training and transportation services for disadvantaged workers in the inner city.
According to a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee study, as of 2010, only 44.7% of black males, 16 to 64 years of age, are employed.
