Brewster Culberson El Paso Hudspeth Jeff Davis Presidio

Our Roadmap to 2020Bold Solution’s for Tomorrow’s Workforce

2012 Annual Report

To be competitive in a global economy means changing our economic thinking; we must replace old strategies with new ones. Collaborative regional economic thinking and planning with our key stakeholders will advance our regional assets by creating new pathways for economic development.

LorenzoReyesJr.,ChiefExecutiveOfficer

Table of Contents

Message from Our Leaders

County Judges & Board of Directors

Mission, Vision and Values

Strategic Goals

Regional Snapshots

Performance

Expenditures

Independent Auditors Letter

Models and Initiatives

Stories of Success & Contributions

Spirit of Excellence Gala 2012

Locations & Texas Workforce Boards

Shining Moment

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Commitment to stewardship of public funds, tenets of accountability and transparency, quality service for the region’s residents, and development of innovative initiatives to address employer needs are highlighted in this annual report.

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande is pleased to present a snapshot of the number of customers served, the services provided to employers and job seekers, descriptions of the leading-edge initiatives and budget in this annual report.

Chief Elected Official Mayor John Cook

This is my eighth and final letter as the Chief Elected Official for Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande. It has been my honor and privilege to be the lead elected official, and to see the Board grow into one of the leading boards in the state and nation in terms of performance and innovation. During my tenure as Mayor, I’ve seen the board win a number of state and national awards, not the least of which was when the CEO, Lorenzo Reyes, Jr., received one of the highest awards bestowed by the Mexican American Farmworkers Organization at its national conference in 2011, the Government Employee Leadership Award.

Board staff is now recognized as workforce experts in many areas, presenting both information and innovation at local, regional, state and national conferences. Likewise, Workforce Solutions had the largest summer youth program in the state, with over 5,000 youth employed through a $14 million grant. Undaunted, and in spite of dwindling funding, the Board continues to fund a summer work program for youth with disabilities. This is the fifth year of the award-winning “Breaking Barriers,” placing some 60 youth into summer jobs in El Paso County this summer alone.

This continued commitment is shared through their community service in their annual Foster Youth Picnic, Adopt a Highway, Blue Jean Drive for migrant seasonal farmworkers, along with individual acts of excellence in giving back to their community. It takes true commitment to continue to grow the pipeline of potential workers, especially in their innovative STEM Challenge, now in its fourth year. As they continue to build the emerging workforce, I wish staff and its many partners, and the Board of Directors, every good wish for continued success. Growth supported by a stable workforce, long-term growth plans, a larger proportion of workers with advanced degrees will foster regional competitiveness.

My best wishes,

John F. Cook

Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Reyes, Jr.

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande is pleased to share with you our 2012 annual report highlighting events and accomplishments from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012. We are trulyproud of these accomplishments and our continuing efforts to address emerging workforce skills gaps, raising educational and training opportunities, getting parents much needed child care as they work or complete training so that they may be better prepared to access the American dream, and, provide innovate and collaborative solutions to meet business and industry demands for a skilled workforce. Through leveraged partnerships with universities, hospitals and nonprofits, we submitted a nearly $30 million grant for regional health care. While not funded, we learned the value of mega-collaboration, tapping into resources throughout the year for smaller opportunities that drive workforce opportunity on behalf of our tens of thousands of customers in our six-county region.

We remained number one in performance for the year among Texas workforce boards, and we learned last Spring that we were mentioned several times in a USDOL-funded handbook entitled, “Sharing Success: Common Policies and Practices of Urban WIBs Reporting High Client Earnings,” as being among the top 23 workforce boards in WIA for Adult Worker and Dislocated Worker., and in the top eight for high wage earnings. We also won the Best Service to Workers Award by the Texas Workforce Commission for 2012, for our “26 A Su Lado,” segment with KINT Univision. The board would like to recognize that none of these accomplishments could be done without our partners – private and public, and in particular our exceptional 25-member Board of Directors. They set the vision, mission and strategic goals. Our gratitude for collaboration from all levels of our region is what makes us a truly innovative workforce board on behalf of our six-county region.

Sincerely,

Lorenzo Reyes, Jr.

County Judges

Brewster County Judge Val Clark Beard

Culberson County Judge Carlos G. Urias

El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar

Hudspeth County Judge Becky Dean-Walker

Jeff Davis County Judge George E. Grubb

Presidio County Judge Paul Hunt

Eli Velasquez2011 Board SecretaryInnovate El PasoExecutive Director

Henry GallardoBoard ChairStrategic Wealth Advisors

Bertha A. GallardoBoard SecretaryLas Palmas & Del SolRegional Healthcare System

Officers for the Board of Directors

Jesus M. Martinez El Paso Independent School District

Lane G. “Buster” MIlls B-P Construction

Leticia Paez YWCA Foundation

Gloria Peña El Paso Children’s Hospital

Sotero G. Ramirez, III Texas Workforce Commission Tele-center

William Serrata, Ph.D. El Paso Community College

Patricia Villalobos Barnhart-Taylor Inc.

Melissa E. Wilder Pre-Paid Legal Services

David C. Wilson Sul Ross State University

Henry Gallardo Strategic Wealth Advisors

Bertha A. GallardoLas Palmas & Del Sol Regional Healthcare System

Eli VelasquezPaso Del Norte Group

Mary Margaret Adame Texas Health and Human Services Commission -El Paso Region

Steven J. Blanco Blanco Ordonez Mata and Wallace, P.C.

Irma O. Bocanegra A&T Texas

Tracy Bristol Marcus, Fairall, Bristol+Co., L.L.P.

Teresa Cantrell FEMAP Foundation

Javier Casas El Paso Central Labor Union

Luis Enrique Chew VOLAR Center for Independent Living

Yvonne “Bonnie” Dominguez Moe’s Restaurant

Leo A. Duran, Sr. L&J Cafe

Debra K. Koch The Boeing Company

Ana G. Huerta-Macias, Ph.D. Paso del Norte Literacy Council

Judy H. Ledbetter Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute

Grace D. Muñoz, PHR First Light Federal Credit Union

Board of Directors

Our VisionA strong network of strategic alliances which

builds a gainfully employed workforce based on regional employer needs in a globally competitive

regional economy

To provide skilled workers for employers by advancing education, employment,

entrepreneurship and economic development opportunities in support of global competitiveness

and regional prosperity

Our Mission

Our Core Values

Our Pillars

The values held by the Upper Rio Grande Workforce Board give focus and direction to the

regional workforce system.

Integrity Accountability Customer FocusOpen Communication Teamwork Collaboration Transparency

A diverse and sustainable FINANCIAL plan

Value-driven stakeholder GROWTH opportunities with results orientation

Customer-valued SERVICES

“Best in class” QUALITY

Inspired, competent URG TEAM

Positive impact on our COMMUNITY

Customer Needs

Service Delivery

Organizational LeadershipGoal 1: We will maximize community

resources by facilitating connections that impact supply/demand-side collaboration.

Key Metrics:

• Annually increase the total amount of leveraging funding in initiatives, which focus on STEEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Entrepreneurship, Math)

• Growth in the number of internships, on-the-job training, co-ops supported by URG

GOAL 2: We will provide specialized services based on individual client needs helping clients achieve their successful plan including training, employment, and support services.

Key Metrics:

• Increase the number of job placements by funding stream

• Annually increase the number of participants with disabilities

GOAL 3: We will adapt our service delivery model based on client, employer, and overall regional needs.

Key Metrics:

• Increase of number of children served in the rural communities

• Increase the number of participants in the rural communities

GOAL 4: We will bring regional relevancy to the URG strategic direction through an E4 (education, employment, entrepreneurship, economic development) framework.

Key Metrics:

• Annually increase the investment in in programs and initiatives that foster education, entrepreneurship, employment, and economic development for individuals in the region

• Annually increase the number of individuals in programs and initiatives that foster education, entrepreneurship, employment, and economic development in the region

GOAL 5: We will achieve ‘best class’ recognition by creating/rewarding a culture of innovation.

Key Metrics:

• Annually increase market share of regional employers

• Annually increase the number of innovative initiatives that increased effectiveness and efficiency of URG operations

Our Strategic Goals

Organizational Leadership

Communications & Marketing

Resource Management

Technology Management

GOAL 6: We will increase awareness and buy-in by highlighting URG’s contributions and value to the region.

Key Metrics:

• Annually increase in positive electronic and print media coverage

GOAL 7: We will strengthen our collaboration with regional stakeholders by aligning our training opportunities to the present and future regional economy.

Key Metrics:

• Annually increase the number of MOUs with regional stakeholders that will enhance present and future trainings that will enhance the regional economy

GOAL 8: We will improve outreach and opportunities for all stakeholders by integrating viable technology-based solutions.

Key Metrics:• Increase of leveraged partnership

investments for technology-based initiatives

• Annually increase the number of virtual job fairs

Regional Snapshop

2010 2011 2012 Source: Unemployment (LAUS)Data obtaing from TRACER unemployment (LAUS)

Culberson County Unemployment RateBrewster County Unemployment Rate

County Population County Seat Sq. Mi.

Brewster 9,232 Alpine 6,193

Culberson 2,398 Van Horn 3,813

El Paso 800,647 El Paso 1,013

Hudspeth 3,476 Sierra Blanca 4,572

Jeff Davis 2,342 Fort Davis 2,259

Presidio 7,818 Marfa 3,856

Total 825,913 21,706

2010 2011 2012

El Paso County Unemployment RateCulberson County Unemployment Rate

Regional Snapshop

2010 2011 2012

Hudspeth County Unemployment Rate Jeff Davis County Unemployment Rate

Source: Unemployment (LAUS)Data obtaing from TRACER unemployment (LAUS)

Unemployment Rates at Federal. State and Regional Level

2010 2011 2012

Presidio County Unemployment Rate

Large Boards Exceeding Performance Meeting Performance Not Meeting Total

Alamo 4 6 0 10Dallas 6 4 0 10

Gulf Coast 6 4 0 10Lower Rio Garnde 6 4 0 10

North Central 5 4 1 10Tarrant County 4 4 2 10

Upper Rio Grande 7 3 0 10

PerformanceEfficiency and effectiveness of Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande is measured through the percentage of Contracted Measures being met.

Contracted measures are set by Texas Workforce Commission in order to ensure that Workforce Development Boards across the State provide the required level of services for their communities.

Another way to measure the success of our programs is the comparison of performance with the large Boards in the State. This compari-son validates the effectiveness and efficiency of the level of services and utilization of our resources.

In 2012, Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande was proud to be consistently ranked # 1 among all large boards in the state of Texas, based on metrics set forth by the Texas Workforce Commission.

Board Summary Report - Contracted MeasuresBOARD CONTRACT YEAR 2012 YEAR END REPORT

Brewster 716,245.10 Culberson 12,917.45 El Paso 36,780,832.12 Hudspeth 14,107.24 Jeff Davis 445.79 Presidio 101,650.66 Total 37,626,198.36

Expenditures July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012

WIA Adult 2,035,064 WIA Dislocated 1,729,412 WIA Youth 2,077,821 TANF/Choices 5,068,487 FSE&T 861,322 Child Care 20,510,641 TRADE 1,292,110 TBTW 1,081,465 NEG-BRAC 1,245,617 NEG-ARRA 639,907 Other 1,084,351

Total 37,626,198

Administration 3,381,891.65 Career Centers 6,492,887.55 Child Care Services 19,473,642.12 Other (Training Providers) 8,277,777.04

Total 37,626,198.36

By County

By Organization

By Program

Expenditures July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012

WIA Adult 2,035,064 WIA Dislocated 1,729,412 WIA Youth 2,077,821 TANF/Choices 5,068,487 FSE&T 861,322 Child Care 20,510,641 TRADE 1,292,110 TBTW 1,081,465 NEG-BRAC 1,245,617 NEG-ARRA 639,907 Other 1,084,351

Total 37,626,198

Rene D. Peña, CPAMary Carmen Briones, CPAJames R. McDaniel, CPA

MEMBERS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTE OFCERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

4171 N. MESA, SUITE Bl00EL PASO, TEXAS 79902-1498

PHONE: 915-542-1733FAX: 915-544-5440

E-MAIL: cpa@cpaelpaso.com

Independent Auditor’s Letter

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIALREPORTING AND ON COMPLIANCE AND OTHER MATTERS BASED ON AN AUDIT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS PERFORMED IN

ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS

To the Board of DirectorsUpper Rio Grande Workforce Development Board, Inc.

We have audited the accompanying financial statements of Upper Rio Grande Workforce Development Board, Inc. (URGWDB) (a nonprofit organization) as of and for the year ended June 30, 2012, as listed in the table of contents. These financial statements are the responsibility of URGWDB’s management. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial statements based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and the significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the URGWDB as of June 30, 2012, and the changes in financial position for the year then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

March 20, 2013

In accordance with Government Auditing Standards, we have also issued our report dated March 20, 2013 on our consideration of URGWDB’s internal control over financial reporting and on our tests of its compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements and other matters. The purpose of that report is to describe the scope of our testing of internal control over financial reporting and compliance and the results of that testing, and not to provide an opinion on the internal control over financial reporting or on compliance. That report is an integral part of an audit performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards and should be considered in assessing the results of our audit.

Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America require that the management’s discussion and analysis and budgetary comparison information on pages i through vii and 6 be presented to supplement the basic financial statements. Such information, although not a part of the basic financial statements, is require by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, who considers it to be an essential part of financial reporting for placing the basic financial statements in an appropriate operational, economic, or historical context. We have applied certain limited procedures to the required supplementary information in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, which consisted of inquires of management about the methods of preparing the information and comparing the information for consistency with management’s responses to our inquires, the basic financial statements, and other knowledge we obtained during our audit of the basic financial statements. We do not express an opinion or provide any assurance on the information because the limited procedures do not provide us with sufficient evidence to express an opinion or provide any assurance.

Our audit was conducted for the purpose of forming opinions on the financial statements that collectively comprise of URGWDB’s basic financial statements as a whole. The combining statements of financial position and activities and the statement of functional expenses are presented for purposes of additional analysis and are not a required part of the financial statements. The accompanying schedules of expenditures of federal and state awards are presented for purposes of additional analysis as required by U.S. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations and the State of Texas Single Audit Circular, and are also not a required part of the financial statements. The combining financial statements, functional expenses and the schedules of federal and state awards are the responsibility of management and were derived from and relate directly to the underlying accounting and other records used to prepare the financial statements. The information has been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audit of the financial statements and certain additional procedures, including comparing and reconciling such information directly to the underlying accounting and other records to prepare the financial statement or to the financial statements themselves, and other additional procedures in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. In our opinion, the information is fairly stated in all material respects in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole.

STEM Challenge 3

Recognizing the importance of employers being able to compete successfully in the global marketplace, Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande is committed to increasing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) awareness and to taking action to improve individual educational scores in science and math. Our goal is to inspire and engage high school students toward filling the high demand industries of tomorrow.

By aligning Science, Technology, Engineering and Math components into an interdisciplinary business plan construct, the STEM Challenge is intended to capture the innovative entrepreneurial spirit of students by emphasizing the importance of applying those skills to help fill high demand industries of tomorrow. The over arching goal of the challenge is to engender youth interest in pursuing a career in one of the four STEM disciplines by selecting a major at a college or university.

Models & Initiatives

Get Hired

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande is proud to announce that nearly 9,500 people attended our 10th annual job fair that took place Tuesday, September 25th, 2012 at the Judson. F. Williams Convention Center. The actual count is 9,452 and the number of employers in attendance was 245. Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande had been planning for 8,000 job seekers, so the actual number exceeded their expectations.

Some of the employers who attended include CVS, Jackson Hewitt and Planet Fitness. Many of the companies were interviewing and hiring on the spot. Clothing Company Aeropostale was hiring for 200 open positions for their stores located around El Paso.

“26 A Su Lado” Hiring

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande in collaboration with KINT Univision Channel 26 hosted a job fair on Wednesday, April 24th from 1 pm to 5 pm in the parking lot of the KINT studios located at 5426 North Mesa. The job fair was called “Empleo A Su Lado.”

Nearly 30 companies attended including Wal-Mart, Sears, Dish Network, The County of El Paso, EP Fitness, Verizon Wireless, Hewlett Packard, The University of Texas at El Paso, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Alorica, GC Services, West, First Command Financial Services, Whataburger, Jackson Hewitt, and the National Guard.

KINT Channel 26 regularly promoted the job fair in segments and promotional spots leading up to the day. The day of the fair began with our mobile unit that was set up in the parking lot at 5 am for live-shots during KINT’s morning show. Staff was on hand to then help customers with their resumes and get job-seekers prepared for the employers.

Nearly 800 job seekers came throughout the day. Staff finished up the day by sitting in on a “26 A su lado” where we answered calls about our services live on air during the evening broadcast.

Tech Prep More than 280 students have received their GED through Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande’s Tech Prep program, located at both our Eastside and Northeast Career Centers. Two groups graduate every year from the self-paced program. The total number of graduates for this past fiscal year was 95 graduates.

San Jacinto Grant Educational Program (GEP) Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande is partnering with the El Paso Independent School District to help local adults advance their careers through education. Its main focus is to help educationally disadvantaged adults obtain their General Educational Development (GED.) Customers can expect to receive a wide range of free educational courses including English as a second language, GED in Spanish/ESL classes, English GED, and Advanced Reading and Writing.

Future Workforce Pipeline The Future Workforce Pipeline Project will help build a better prepared and skilled workforce to meet future staffing needs for Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande through an internship program for qualified UTEP college students within our region who will take on areas of responsibility within their degree field that supports the work of the system. The idea is also meant to spark interest in considering workforce as a career.

More Models & Initiatives

Red, White, and You Job Fair

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande is proud to announce that nearly 1100 job seekers and 72 employers attended our “Hiring Red, White, and You” job fair today, November 15th, 2012. Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande hosted this targeted hiring fair at our downtown workforce center.

All 28 workforce development boards across the state also hosted their own veterans hiring fair on the same day. This statewide hiring event will help provide opportunities for employment to the estimated 922,000 veterans in the Texas workforce. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the national unemployment rate for all veterans is 6.7 percent. In contrast, for those veterans who served in the military post 9/11, the unemployment rate is higher at 9.7 percent. As of September 2012, the current unemployment rate in El Paso was 8.7%.

Other Initiatives• Breaking Barriers

• Career Cruising

• Disability Subcommittee

• Early College High School

• Sacred Heart

• School of Nursing

• Sin Fronteras

• Survivors @ Work

• Young Achivers Forum

• NCLEX

San Jacinto Grant Educational Program (GEP) Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande is partnering with the El Paso Independent School District to help local adults advance their careers through education. Its main focus is to help educationally disadvantaged adults obtain their General Educational Development (GED.) Customers can expect to receive a wide range of free educational courses including English as a second language, GED in Spanish/ESL classes, English GED, and Advanced Reading and Writing.

Future Workforce Pipeline The Future Workforce Pipeline Project will help build a better prepared and skilled workforce to meet future staffing needs for Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande through an internship program for qualified UTEP college students within our region who will take on areas of responsibility within their degree field that supports the work of the system. The idea is also meant to spark interest in considering workforce as a career.

Stories of Success & Contributions

The SNAP and Tech Prep programs share in the joint success in helping one of our customers make substantial progress toward his ever important career goals. Despite all of his life’s obstacles, Mr. Alex Novella completed and passed all parts of completing his GED. In November Mr. Novella was able to realize his career enhancing dream of achieving an equivalent of being a high school graduate. He is now poised and ready to attend El Paso Community College’s nursing program. Onward and upward Mr. Novella, we are all very proud of your GED accomplishment.

“It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice

.”Alejandro Novela, Program Participant

Daniel Cazier is currently a participant of the WIA-Youth program and received his GED on December 18th.During the Summer, he worked at Walgreens, however because of a technicality with his documentation, he had to be pulled from the Work Experience program. By the time the problem was taken care of, it was too late to go back to Walgreen’s, so he was placed to work at the Dyer Workforce Center in the Tech Prep classroom helping other students accomplish their GED. He worked at the tech prep class room for about one month when the funding was over. Daniel’s commitment to the Tech Prep students was so high that he kept on working as a volunteer just to help them out! But Danny needed money so he kept coming to me saying “Miss I really need a job, I need money.” For a young man who was helping out our Workforce center on a voluntary basis, I felt we needed to return the favor and help him out as much as we could. After looking in the system several times and not finding too many options for Danny, I decided to take this into my hands and made sure I would find him a job. What I did was to go out every day during my lunch hour to neighboring businesses and looked for a job for Danny. It took me about 2 weeks until I stepped into Carmike Movie theatres asked to speak with the manager and started telling her about Danny. The manager was so moved to hear Danny’s story that even though she was not hiring at the moment was going to grant him the interview. That same day, I want to the office, helped Danny fill out an online application and prepped him for the interview. When Danny’s interview came through, he impressed the manager so much that he was offered a job! Today, you can go to your friendly Carmike Movie Theaters and receive the best of service from one of our own kids.

In April, staff helped raise funds to provide food and baskets for nearly 300 El Paso current and former Foster youth for their annual picnic. This annual event is co-sponsored by the El Paso Foster Parent Association. The kids enjoyed a day of food and fun at Memorial Park in Central El Paso. Two Cathedral High School groups, Hope without Borders and National Spanish Honor Society helped Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande collect donated baskets.

More Stories of Success & Contributions

Also in April, Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande was proud to partner with Rebuilding Together El Paso and Sears Holdings to make improvements to the home of Korean War Veteran, Mr. Armando Lopez. Mr. Lopez is 76-year-old disabled Korean War Veteran whose hearing impairment was a result of performing his daily duties on the flight line while serving in the U.S Air Force. As most young American servicemen, he did not realize the health hazards he was exposed to after spending day after day on the flight line. He now is unable to drive, has to wear two hearing aids, suffers from vertigo and can only stand for short periods of time. Dozens of volunteers from various groups including Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande were on hand to paint and complete other improvements to his home.

More Stories of Success & Contributions

In June, staff and customers from all Workforce Solutions Centers donated hundreds of jeans collected to Sin Fronteras. For three months leading up to this event, Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande had been asking the community and our staff to donate clean usable jeans that will now be donated to our local migrant seasonal farm worker community. Bins were placed at all of our centers around the city and they were overflowing come June. By our estimates, there are currently around 6,000 migrant seasonal farmworkers in our region.

In August, Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande once again partnered with the El Paso Foster Parents Association to help host a Quinceañera for 40 current and former foster youth on August 17, 2012 at the El Campanario Ballroom. The evening was filled with laughter, tears, and plenty of dancing as these teens celebrated a traditional rite of passage.

During the month of November, the staff at the Lomaland Workforce Solutions office participated in a workforce system- wide collection of warm blankets for the greater El Paso community. The generous staff at the Lomaland office collected the much needed funding to purchase 27 adult warm blankets and 15 baby blankets. The blankets were then taken to the Opportunity Center for the Homeless.

In October, Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande helped coordinate the attendance of students from various districts across El Paso to attend Sam’s Club Disability Mentoring Day. It’s a nationwide effort to promote career development for students with disabilities through hands-on-career exploration. Students toured various departments, enjoyed lunch, and learned about future career opportunities.

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande has been helping with Texas A&M’s University Operation Boot Box for the past six years. Our efforts have been spearheaded by Ms. Noma Rubalcava. These boxed are distributed to anyone that wants one to fill them with presents for children who live in the Colonias. Without this support, many of those children might not otherwise receive Christmas gifts. This year, we filled 73 boxes. Thank you to everyone who contributed!!

Spirit of Excellence Gala 2012

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande held our annual awards gala at the El Paso Museum of Art on August 15, 2012. We honored staff, training providers, media partners, and rural partners. This was the first year we chose to recognize our rural community partners for all that they do. The event is meant to bring together all of our partners from throughout the year and share in our successes and plan for the future.

Spirit of Excellence Award WinnersMedia Partners: El Diario, El Paso Times, KINT, KXPL 1060 AM

Training Providers: Academy School of Careers, Center for Employment Training, University of Texas at El Paso, Western Tech Institute

Employers: Hewlett Packard, Walgreen’s, Wal-Mart, Western Refining

Rural Partners: Iliana Chacon, Ricardo Maestas, Dennis McEntire, Richard Villanueva

Staff: Lizbeth Alfara, Karina Castillo, Crystal Yanez, Nora Escobar

West5070 DoniphanEl Paso(915) 887-2730

Downtown300 E. MainEl Paso(915) 887-2600

Northeast9740 DyerEl Paso(915) 887-2820

Locations

Presidio, Presidio County100 Market, Unit 6BPresidio(432) 229-1170

Mobile Unit

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande was proud to open a new location in 2012 in the heart of El Paso’s Lower Valley. The new career center located at 8825 North Loop features state of the art technology and an open model for customer service. Our goal is to convert the rest of the centers into this open floor plan. Additionally in 2012, all center received a phone and computer upgrade equipment in an effort to be more cost and technology efficient.

Ft. Bliss2494 Ricker RoadEl Paso(915) 887-2600

Fabens, El Paso County206 S.E. 8th StreetFabens(915) 887-2790

Alpine, Brewster County500 West Avenue HCentennial Building, Rm 108Alpine(432) 837-9800

Texas Workforce Boards

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio GrandeAdministrative Offices300 E. Main Suite 800El Paso, TX 79901(915) 887-2600

Visit our websites:www.urgjobs.orgwww.workintexas.com

Customer care line:(915) 887-26001-866-351-2777

In an effort to reduce operational costs, Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande moved its administration offices to 300 E. Main. This move allowed Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande to divert funds to other operations and functions.

Click covers to download previous annual reports or go to our website at

www.urgjobs.org

2011 2010

2009 2008

Annual Reports

For the second year in a row, Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande received the “Service to Workers Award” at the Texas Workforce Commission’s Annual Conference. This year’s award came with a $15,000 check that was presented at the conference. This year’s award was for working with local Spanish-speaking television station KINT 26 to inform workers and job seekers about available workforce services. Headlining the partnership is a news segment called “26 A Su Lado” (26 On Your Side), a semiannual event coordinated by Upper Rio Grande and KINT 26. Upper Rio Grande staff visit the studio and offer employment services and Internet access while hosting a mini–job fair. Staff members then cover the phones on a call-in program and answer workforce-related questions from viewers. Thanks in part to this collaboration, more than 75 percent of those who used Upper Rio Grande services have retained employment.

In 2011, Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande won the “Service to Workers Award” for our Breaking Barriers program, which puts youth with disabilities into summer work with key organizations around the city.

Shining Moment

The Upper Rio Grande Workforce Development Board is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Program. Auxiliary aids available

upon request to individuals with disabilities. Relay Texas: Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (TDD) “711”. Ayuda y

servicios están disponibles para personas con discapacidades. Relay Texas: Sistema de comunicación para personas con problemas

auditivos (TDD) “711” o (800/735-2989), *800/735-2988 (Tel.)