WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Greater Oshkosh EDC is dedicated to fostering a robust workforce ecosystem through a comprehensive range of services and programs.
Talent Attraction & Retention
Employer Opportunities
Wisconsin Fast Forward Grants
The Wisconsin Fast Forward grant program cultivates a strong environment for private sector job creation by helping businesses train highly skilled workers to fill current job openings and meet ongoing skill requirements. As a catalyst for talent development, the program encourages increased collaboration between Wisconsin’s businesses and workforce training partners for the development and implementation of customized and sustainable short- and medium-term training programs that place workers in long-term positions with opportunities for professional growth and economic advancement.
Childcare
Area Childcare Data
Winnebago Childcare Study
UW Oshkosh Center for Customized Research (May, 2022)
Wisconsin Childcare Study
Wisconsin Economic Development Institute (February 2023)
Employer Opportunities
Partner UP! Grant Program
Funds partnerships between businesses and regulated existing childcare providers. Funding from this program reserves childcare slots for local business employees, increases staff compensation at childcare providers, and improves the quality of care program.
Greater Fox Valley Childcare Alliance
The Greater Fox Valley Child Care Alliance is a collaborative network spanning Northeast Wisconsin, aiming to enhance accessibility to high-quality, affordable child care and family support for children from birth to five. The Alliance focuses on transforming local policies, coordinating efforts, and facilitating information exchange among partners.
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Currently, it is launching three action teams with a primary objective of addressing the shortage of child care openings by increasing wages and benefits for childcare workers. This involves engaging employers in investing in a sustainable regional childcare infrastructure and exploring innovative solutions such as reserving slots, providing tax-exempt benefits, and establishing in-house childcare centers for employees.
Childcare Resource & Referral
Child Care Resource & Referral is a community-based non-profit agency offering services to parents, child care providers, employers and the community that improve the quality and accessibility of early childhood education and care.
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Employer Services:
- Child Care Needs Assessment
- Child Care Market Profile
- Child Care Referral Services
- Child Care Development Consultation
For more information, contact Eric Balza, CCR&R Business Child Care Advocate.
OnsiteKids
OnsiteKids sees prefabricated modulars as a strategic approach aligned with their mission to provide accessible and top-quality childcare solutions for frontline workers, shaping a more sustainable and flexible future in early childhood education.
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Facilitate subsidized on-site early learning center benefits for your employees. OnsiteKids pioneers modular child care through prefabricated modulars, offering an innovative solution for today’s workforce. Key aspects include affordability, flexibility for dynamic needs, efficient space utilization, rapid deployment to address labor shortages, and a commitment to high-quality child care environments. OnsiteKids sees prefabricated modular as a strategic approach aligned with their mission to provide accessible and top-quality child care solutions forfrontline workers, shaping a more sustainable and flexible future in early childhood education.
Childcare Business Resources
PartnerUP! Grant
Funds partnerships between businesses and regulated existing childcare providers. Funding from this program reserves childcare slots for local business employees, increases staff compensation at childcare providers and improves the quality of care program.
Child Care Resource & Referral Director Support Group
Child Care Resource & Referral offers the opportunity to connect childcare directors and leadership team members together! This support group is designed specifically for Childcare Directors and Leadership team members operating in Calumet, Green Lake, Outagamie, Waupaca, and Winnebago Counties.
Starting Your Child Care Business Information Session
This information session will be held In-person and virtually monthly from 6:00-8:00 PM at the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce 120 Jackson Street Oshkosh, WI 54901.
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Information covered in this session:
- County Certification
- State Licensing
- Child & Adult Care Food Program
- CCR&R Resources
- Marketing & Advertising
- Childcare Rates
- Insurance, Taxes, & Record Keeping
- Running a Business
Veterans Professional Occupational Licensure Fee Waiver Program
If you are a veteran, you may be eligible to have your initial childcare license fee waived.
WEESSN Training Opportunities
Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network (WEESSN) provides a wide range of trainings on a variety of topics for early childhood programs.
WECA Food Program
Reimbursement program for childcare meals and snacks for licensed or certified providers.
WECA REWARD Stipend Program
Financial stipends to current childcare workforce every 6 months based on level rate to improve retention of ECE workforce and continued education in the field.
WECA TEACH Scholarship
Offers scholarships to Early Childhood educators that are enrolled at technical colleges, private colleges or universities for credit-based education courses/degrees.
Broadband
Rural Connectivity
Light the Lake Initiative
US Internet, based out of Minneapolis, MN, and Oshkosh WI, received a grant for $2.25M from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, in April 2020, to begin the Light the Lake Project. This is a 100% fiber optic network project that benefits the Village of Winneconne, Town of Winneconne, Town of Poygan, Butte Des Morts, Vinland, and a portion of the City of Oshkosh. In addition to the grant money, US Internet is also investing $10M in private equity to begin and expand the project.
In early November 2020, US Internet broke ground on their site preparation for the remote fiber cabinet on Brooks Road/I-41. Since late Fall, the company has directionally buried 47 miles of in-ground cable and they have connected approximately 300 rural customers to their fiber internet service. The company also created a special landing page on the US Internet website for all new Wisconsin customers. The website went live in February 2021.
Light the Lake II
US Internet was awarded, a second grant request from the Public Service Commission for $1.54M for Light the Lake II. This expansion project addresses broadband needs in Northwest Winnebago County and Western Winnebago County (Poygan, Rushford, Waukau, City of Omro, Town of Omro, and Town of Algoma), which began construction in the spring of 2022.
WORKFORCE HOUSING
Developer Resources
Housing Tax Credits (HTC)
Housing Tax Credits (HTC) provide a dollar-for-dollar reduction in federal income taxes for owners/investors ineligible projects, serving tenants with incomes at or below 60% of the County Median Income. Applicants must meet mandatory threshold requirements for financing, market, site control, and zoning. Applications are then evaluated and points are awarded for select criteria as outlined by program administrator WHEDA.
New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC)
The federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program supports job creation and economic development in low-income urban and rural areas by encouraging equity investment. WHEDA awards NMTCs to finance impactful projects in highly distressed areas across Wisconsin.
Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)
Tax credits for the acquisition, rehabilitation, or newconstruction of rental housing targeted to lower-income households in Qualified Census Tracts (QCT)and Difficult Development Areas (DDA) designatedby HUD.
Partner Organizations
Transportation
Greater Oshkosh EDC brought together local partners in 2019 to address workforce transportation gaps throughout Winnebago County. The Winnebago Catch-A-Ride program supported economically distressed individuals to acquire and retain employment by providing access to reliable and affordable transportation to and from work.
Winnebago Catch-A-Ride
Winnebago Catch-A-Ride is a workforce development initiative, striving to provide employment transportation services to individuals who do not qualify or have access to existing programs throughout Winnebago County. This program addresses the labor shortage by providing safe, reliable, and affordable workforce transportation that increases an individual’s ability to maintain employment.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION
Employer Resources
Military Talent Pipeline
Mission Wisconsin facilitates connections between your organization and the military community, providing immediate access to qualified leads from their talent pipeline.
Windmills Training
Wisconsin Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) administers the Windmills’ disability training empowers leaders to create inclusive workplaces, addresses real-world challenges and covers diverse benefits, improved communication, low-cost accommodations, and disability employment law basics
Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal income tax credit designed to help people gain on-the-job experience and achieve better employment outcomes. The WOTC program offers federal tax credits to employers as an incentive to hire people in several specific target groups.
Emerging Business and Workforce Development Program
The Emerging Business Program was created to encourage the involvement, utilization, and development of economically disadvantaged businesses in the State of Wisconsin. Emerging Business participation dollar goals are established per county and are based on percentages of allowable construction costs established in the application submitted to WHEDA for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). In Winnebago County, voluntary participation is 5% of allowable construction costs.
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The Workforce Development Program was created to enable unemployed and underemployed area residents in either designated areas or counties surrounding awarded LIHTC developments to obtain living wage construction jobs.
Job Center of Wisconsin Workforce Events
Participate in upcoming in-person and virtual hiring events.