Office of Economic and Workforce Development
Latest News From OEWD
OEWD Volunteers with Habitat for Humanity
OEWD staff and students in the Green Jobs Training program volunteered on April 15 to assist with the installation of siding on two houses being built by Habitat for Humanity. Volunteer efforts were part of the City of Durham’s Culture of Service initiative as service to the community.
OEWD staff and students in the green jobs training program at the site of one of the Habitat for Humanity houses.
European Marshall Fellows at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, March 8
Back row (left to right): Peter Coyle, Todd Culpepper (from IACNC, the host organization for the NC visit), Simona De Martino (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Assia Traycheva-Vulcheva (Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Grace Dzidzienyo. Front Row (left to right): Jean Richard de Latour (French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Employment), Richard Kvasnovsky (News Agency of the Slovak Republic), Sandrine Nelissen Grade (Belgacom – the Belgian telecommunications company).
European Marshall Fellows Visit Durham
On March 8, 2011 the City of Durham Office of Economic and Workforce Development hosted a visit by five European Marshall Fellows, arranged in cooperation with the International Affairs Council of North Carolina. Founded in 1982, the Marshall Memorial Fellowship (MMF) was created by the German Marshall Fund of the United States to introduce a new generation of European leaders to the United States. In 1999, GMF launched a companion program to expose future U.S. leaders to a changing and expanding Europe. The Marshall Memorial Fellowship was created as a memorial to General George C. Marshall who, as Secretary of State in the Truman administration, created the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after the devastation of World War II.
The Marshall Memorial Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for emerging leaders from the United States and Europe to explore institutions, politics, and culture on the other side of the Atlantic. American and European Fellows each visit five cities during the 24-day program. They meet formally and informally with a range of policymakers, prominent community members, and local MMF alumni. During the trip, each fellow also has the opportunity to explore his or her individual professional interests beyond the group programs, which focus on a range of domestic and international policy areas.
In the 2011 visit, the European fellows focused on Durham’s cultural assets and programs. The participating fellows were from Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Italy and Slovakia. The day-long tour included visits to City Hall, the Hayti Heritage Center, the NCCU Art Museum, the Carolina Theatre, the Durham Performing Arts Center, the Durham Arts Council, the American Tobacco Campus, the Nasher Museum, the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, the Duke Chapel, Parrish Street and other sites. The fellows met with representatives of a variety of local cultural organizations including the American Dance Festival, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Mallarme Chamber Players, the Durham Public Schools, and the Carolina Wren Press. They participated in a welcoming dance performed by the African-American Dance Ensemble.
The Durham Workforce Development Board 2008-2009 Report is now available on line!
Learn more about the accomplishments and highlights of the Durham JobLink Career System, last year’s human interest stories, relevant stats and more!
Durham’s Brownfields Job Training Program a National Success Story
Durham has been recognized as a best practice site for Brownfields Job Training, based on the success of its training program that has been in operation since 2008. Not only has Durham been recognized by the EPA as a best practice, but it was also one of only 12 applicants out of 63 nationally that received a Brownfields Job Training Grant in 2010. This compliments the Brownfields Assessment Grants also received from EPA in 2009; both grants are valuable economic and workforce development tools for OEWD and Durham!
Durham Receives Wal-Mart Foundation Green Jobs Training Grant
The City of Durham has been awarded the medium-size city award of $400,000 from the Wal-Mart Foundation Green Jobs Training Initiative. The grant will support Builders of Hope's Green Work Mentor Youth program, which will train up to 60 young parents aged 16-24 in a comprehensive and "family supportive" residential green construction and substantial rehabilitation training program. Participants will receive technical instruction, practical experience in worksite safety, equipment use, basic licensed trades (e.g. framing and carpentry) and soft skills development such as punctuality, communication, problem solving and conflict resolution. Durham was the only one out of nineteen cities that applied that received this award.
Durham Mayor William V. "Bill"
Bell addresses the audience
at the Green Jobs Award
luncheon at the U.S. Conference
of Mayors on June 11, 2010.
From left to right,
Durham Mayor William V. "Bill"
Bell, Emily Egge of Builders of Hope
and Kevin Dick, director of
the City of Durham's Office of
Economic and Workforce Development,
accept a $400,000 grant on
behalf of Builders of Hope.