That was the message from officials of the Nevada Workforce Investment Board and the Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board a pre-convention session at the Global Gaming Expo Monday. The annual gaming convention, which began Monday and ended Thursday, was put on by the American Gaming Association at the Las Vegas Convention Center. About 50 gaming and workforce investment board officials attended the session.

"This is government almost at it's finest," said Arte Nathan, chair of the Nevada Workforce Investment Board and chief human resources officer for Wynn Resorts. "Government that is working to help people in need."

The session was the second such event coordinated by the Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board. A gaming summit was held by the group earlier this year at Wynn Las Vegas to get the word out to employers about the workforce investment system.

Chester Richardson, vice chairman of the Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board, said after the session he felt the two events were effective in achieving their purpose. That's because large gaming companies like MGM Mirage have begun to use the system, he said.

The boards distribute federal labor funds to provide job training and other related services, as well as helping to provide companies with trained workers. The Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board and the Northern Nevada Workforce Investment Board oversee the 11 JobConnect offices in the state. There are three Nevada JobConnect offices in the Las Vegas Valley.

Nevada JobConnect is a system charged with overseeing and providing workforce development services to Nevada's employers and job seekers. Job seekers can go to any of the centers for assistance.

Nathan said the three workforce investment boards in Nevada have heavy participation from business leaders to ensure the boards meet the business community's workforce needs. But, he added that more gaming companies should use the Nevada JobConnect offices.

The results of a Nevada JobConnect survey released earlier this year showed that 35 percent of the state's companies with 201 to 1,000 employees used the centers to find employees hiring needs. About 300 companies in Nevada responded to the survey.

"Most companies still think putting an ad in the paper is the best way to find help," Nathan said. "It is the worst way to find help. I've become professionally oriented to how well (Nevada) JobConnect works. It's as effective as any employment agency you call."

Kelly Karch, center manager for the Nevada JobConnect office on Maryland Parkway, told the group the offices train workers for jobs that are actually available. That way they avoid wasting time and money, he said.

Nathan also spoke about the responsibility of gaming companies to hire a diverse workforce. Although the gaming industry was "late" in embracing diversity, he said the industry has really gotten behind the idea. He added that MGM Mirage's comprehensive approach to the issue has led the way.

"Most people think gaming is an old white guy network," Nathan said. "Not so anymore."

He said when Wynn Las Vegas opened earlier this year the company had little trouble hiring a diverse workforce. He said more than 54 percent of the company's applicants were minority and that 68 percent of the company's current workforce is minority.

Nathan said, as he has previously, that diversity isn't just about hiring women and minorities. Wynn Resorts is dedicated to hiring people with nontraditional backgrounds such as ex-prisoners, those making the transition from welfare to work and those seeking to escape a life of gang membership, he said.

"If you don't hire people coming out of prison, they have two choices -- find a job or go back to prison," Nathan said. He added that the company's efforts to hire such workers have been successful.

Nathan wasn't the only one to address the issue of diversity during the session. Ryan Flieger, manager of diversity education for MGM Mirage, spoke about the company's efforts to train its 70,000 employees on the importance of diversity. He said so far 654 employees have undergone the 27-hour, three-day Diversity Champions training program since it was launched in 2002.

"By the end of the year we'll have 1,000," Flieger said. "Initailly our focus was on managers."

The company has a four-year plan in place to get 40 percent of the company's workforce trained in the Diversity Champions program.

Alana Roberts covers courts and labor relations for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached by e-mail at alanar@lasvegassun.com or at (702) 259-4059.