(Green Bay) – Meaningful employment earning a family-supporting wage is a challenge for many Northeastern Wisconsinites, and subpar digital literacy can pose significant barriers for many people looking to enter the workforce or improve their employment situation.

Increasingly, technology is used in training programs and the modern workplace. Digital literacy, or rather, the lack of it, now becomes an obstacle for those wanting to upgrade their skills, boost their wages and improve their quality of life. Unemployment or under-employment (described as “not working but available to work, part-time work, full-time work at a non-sustaining wage, or working multiple jobs to make ends meet”) digital literacy can boost a job applicant’s appeal to a prospective employer and open a new door to better jobs.

The Bay Area Workforce Development Board (“Bay Area WDB”) is excited to announce that gener8tor Management, LLC (“gener8tor”) will receive a grant award of up to $400,000.00 to design, implement, and deliver programming to target area populations through the Bay Area WDB’s new “Digital Literacy Skills Preparation & Training” program. 

The Digital Literacy Skills Preparation & Training program is being funded with a portion of a $1.6M grant Bay Area WDB received to further serve individuals whose previous employment has not come back post-pandemic, as well as those who were not attached to or were not successful in the labor market prior to the pandemic.  The grant is the result of the Worker Advancement Initiative (WAI) administrated by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, with funds originating from the U.S. Department of Treasury and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). 

Additionally, an outreach emphasis will be placed on underserved populations where the digital skills gap is even greater.  In our region, underserved populations are Black-Non-Hispanics, White-Hispanics, and Asian-Non-Hispanics.  The pandemic shed light on the digital gaps in the workplace and the Digital Literacy Skills program offers the training that could tip the scales for individuals within these underserved populations. “We now see digital literacy as a basic skill requirement necessary for success in the world of work, continuing education, and many aspects of our daily lives,” said Matt Valiquette, Executive Director at Bay Area WDB, “It makes sense that enhancing or improving digital literacy would be an appropriate first step for many on the path to prosperity.”

As facilitators of the Digital Literacy Skills program, gener8tor will provide participant recruiting, digital learning and skills training, work readiness, career pathway coaching, and will connect graduates with employers.  Recently, gener8tor partnered with New North, WI Regional Economic Development Organization and Microsoft Techspark to help unemployed people in Northeast WI get back to work.  This grant award will continue this work and create additional pipelines for historically marginalized residents through enhanced partnerships.  

In addition, gener8tor will leverage other career and educational programs offered by Bay Area WDB through the Workforce Innovation Opportunities Act (WIOA), such as technical training, career coaching, and wrap around services, including transportation, childcare, and living expenses when necessary.

Bay Area WDB and this grant program will serve Brown, Door, Florence, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano, and Sheboygan counties. gener8tor will begin the Digital Literacy Skills Preparation & Training program on April 1^st, with project funding through September 30, 2023.  For more information, contact Vickie Patterson at Bay Area WDB, 920-492-0196, vpatterson@bayareawdb.org.