UW-Eau Claire and Workforce Innovation Grant Partners Receive Top Talent Initiative Award

UW-Eau Claire and their Workforce Innovation grant partners - the Mayo Clinic Health System-Northwest Wisconsin, Mayo Clinic Office of Entrepreneurship, WiSys Technology Corporation, and the UW-Eau Claire Small Business Development Center, received the Top Talent Initiative Award at the Momentum West annual economic development awards ceremony. “We are pleased to have received this award on behalf of our organization and our partners, which also include 13 regional school districts and seven regional social service agencies,” said Chancellor James Schmidt. The UW System and its campuses are workforce development engines that can spur economic growth. Workforce development fits squarely within the “Wisconsin Idea” and the overarching mission of a regional comprehensive university: to meet the region’s educational needs, to develop human resources, to discover and disseminate knowledge, and to extend and apply that knowledge beyond the campus.

“UW-Eau Claire takes a short-term and long-term approach to workforce development. We provide our students with the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in their first job after graduation. We also seek to instill a mindset of life-long learning in our students, coupled with the creative and critical thinking skills that position our graduates for new career opportunities as they arise,” said Chancellor Schmidt. 

About the Workforce Innovation Grant

“This Workforce Innovation grant was made possible because of the years of investment we have made in developing trusting, mutually beneficial relationships with our partners. The university has long understood the power of community partnerships and the ability to leverage our combined thinking and resources to accomplish goals, like those outlined in the grant, that would not be possible if we were working alone,” said Chancellor Schmidt. 

The Workforce Innovation grant aligns with the university’s 2025 strategic plan and its emphasis on health and wellbeing. To that point, the initiatives in the grant are focused on improving the health and wellbeing of Wisconsin residents. Furthermore, this grant addresses the immediate, emerging, and long-term workforce needs of the region, with an emphasis on the needs of rural regions that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. 

Immediate needs: the grant enhances our nursing curriculum to graduate 48 additional nurses each year and to provide tuition assistance and networking opportunities for student teachers and social work interns whose educational placements are in rural settings. The placements and networking opportunities are designed to encourage students to remain in the region after graduation. 

Emerging needs: the grant provides resources to develop a new healthcare workforce that will deliver technology-based health care and coaching to patients at home, and to develop new academic programs to produce in-demand healthcare professionals in psychiatry/mental health, health care management, public health, exercise physiology, and speech language pathology. 

Long-term needs: the grant supports the Small Business Development Center to assist regional business development and job creation and to provide innovation skills to our students and regional business owners so that they can more quickly innovate and pivot when challenges arise.

About UW-Eau Claire

Founded in 1916, UW-Eau Claire prides itself in creating an environment where students thrive and graduate ready to succeed in any and every endeavor. Our history speaks for itself, from our Fulbright scholars to our impressive rankings among public and private universities. What we care about most is ensuring that our students are well-prepared for the future and well supported while earning their degrees. At UW-Eau Claire, we believe that every student can achieve greatness and nothing makes us prouder than having a helping hand in that.

Read this article for more information on how the Workforce Innovation grant powers rural workforce partnerships. Discover the important role that the Mayo Clinic is playing in workforce development throughout the region.