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Jobs Programs Weekly

Durham Nonprofit Helps Former Inmates Get Back Into Workforce

A nonprofit in Durham is working to help ex-offenders find jobs and get their lives back on track. The program, run by N.C. Works Career Center, offers participants mentorship and training to help them secure employment. It even offers gas money to help them find transportation to work.

“We’re trying to help former inmates who have served their time or are currently serving or are transitioning out of prison,” said Monica Biggs, a social service supervisor and career coach at the company.

She added “There’s a lot of barriers that these guys face when they come out. We engage with service providers who will teach our trainees in the profession that is in demand.”

 In this training, participants learn about occupational skills and job readiness. They also receive training on how to interact with peers, customers, and supervisors.

Interested former inmates can reach out to them here.

Top American Companies Are Finally Hiring People with Criminal Records

Based on the Bureau of Justice Statistics, close to 80 million felony-convicted Americans have a criminal history. And that’s not it.

Nearly 2.2 million individuals are incarcerated in state, federal, and local jails and correctional facilities, with an overwhelming majority of them waiting to be freed at some point.

Motivated by social justice reform and the extreme difficulty in finding workers, an increasing number of leading businesses, including tech giants like Slack, Microsoft, and JPMorgan are hiring formerly incarcerated people, offering them opportunities to reenter the workforce.

After all, it’s not simply about giving someone a job. It’s about giving an opportunity to this strata of society to start over, provide for their families, and improve the communities.

Out of Prison, Into a Job: Inmates Reentering Society With a Job Counseling Program

There are roughly 6.9 million people in jail, incarceration, or on parole in the US at any given moment. Each year, some 650,000 inmates across the nation’s federal and state prisons are released, looking for ways to start a new life.

This is why the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), a national initiative that began in the Fresno region in 2020, gives former inmates the opportunity to work, earn a living, and start over while reducing recidivism rates.

According to Rochelle Trujillo, executive director of the CEO in Fresno, the program gives workforce mobilization coaching, employment training, and placement, as well as job retention assistance, to support “people who’ve been system impacted” in gaining knowledge and skills to find sustainable employment.

So, if you know someone who wants to reenter society with dignity and respect, they can benefit from this initiative. Here’s a link to the company’s direct hiring page.

Google Partners With the State to Offer Free Job Training For Michiganders

Are you looking for employment in IT or digital marketing?

If so, we have some good news for you—Google is expanding its workforce! The tech giant announced a new partnership with the State of Michigan that will offer 500 local job seekers free access to Google Career Certificates training.

This will help Michigan residents find well-paying, in-demand jobs in expanding industries. The partnership will also help boost Google’s workforce in the state by offering free job training programs for qualified residents to boost their economic potential.

Qualified individuals interested in participating in these programs must get in touch with their nearest local Michigan Works! Service Center.

Nonprofit Fights Homelessness By Training Individuals In Construction Careers

Operating via a diverse network of 19 Affiliates in 13 states, HomeAid is a leading nonprofit housing developer that builds programmatic facilities for those experiencing or in danger of homelessness. Its mission is to build strength, stability, and self-reliance in partnership with people and communities.

The nonprofit organization helps fight homelessness by training individuals for careers in the construction industry. It promotes skills needed for constructing, rehabilitating, and preserving homes in partnership with low-income families. The program also caters to the labor shortages in the home building industry and can help people with construction skills secure good jobs in the future.  

Through this program, individuals gain construction skills and repay their investment in the program by giving back and providing affordable housing for their community.

So, are you ready to make a big positive impact? Stop the cycle of homelessness for good.

Visit their website today and learn how you can volunteer for the organization in transforming communities through supportive services, education, and affordable housing!

Partnership Brings Bilingual Skills Training to Latinos

Unidos US, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, and DoorDash, the on-demand delivery platform, are partnering to provide Latinos with English and Spanish-language training programs. The programs are intended to help grow the bilingual workforce across the United States. It aims to make it easier for the Latino community to enter the workforce and participate actively in the economy.

According to DoorDash, the 1.1 million collaboration will fund “workforce development programs targeted on training and mentoring or creating micro/small enterprises, giving people the technological literacy and essential job skills needed for career progression, mobility, and enhancing paths to occupation for job seekers.”

The centerpiece of the collaboration is UnidosUS’s flagship program, Caminos, which will provide bilingual financial tutoring in addition to technical and vocational education for workforce development. The initiative will use the US Dasher forum and the regional UnidosUS affiliates to find and enlist individuals.

According to the Caminos website, the apprenticeship workshops are free for registrants from 10 states, including San Diego, California; Chicago, Illinois; Washington, DC; and Miami, Florida. They will contribute to the formation of their financial, sales, and media skills abilities.

Visit www.caminosunidos.com to learn more and register for Caminos programming.

Goodwill Opens Job Training Center In Springfield

Employers are finding it increasingly difficult to find people with the right experience. Studies show that 85% of Americans believe employers should provide job training. Yet, only 6% of American companies oblige. Employer demand for veterans and candidates with developmental disabilities is high, and Goodwill has the solution.

Goodwill has been a community staple in Springfield for years. As the region’s largest non-profit, they’ve helped countless people find employment and donated generously to the community.

Most recently, they opened a new facility in Springfield called the Pioneer Valley job Training and Operations Center to help people that face barriers such as developmental disabilities get employed.

The 16,000-square-foot facility offers free training for individuals with disabilities to become valuable team members of area businesses. The facility’s main goals are to support those with developmental impairments, those getting off of public assistance, and those leaving the criminal justice system to acquire the skills they require to enter the workforce.

Dallas to launch new job training plan to help residents in underserved communities

The City of Dallas is one of the top 5 cities for business and boasts world-class entertainment, food, and art. Dallasites are eager to help the city be even better.

Workforce Dallas is the first step in that direction.

Mayor Eric Johnson of Dallas and Lynn McBee, the town’s workforce development czar, have announced the commencement of a new initiative—Workforce Dallas—to assist more citizens in underprivileged regions in developing new skills to secure higher-paying employment.

The organizers plan to connect the inhabitants of the city’s low-income districts with employers like American Airlines and Parkland Medical Center. They plan on providing citizens with career training and placement chances through these collaborations. The ultimate goal, according to McBee, is to assist more than 10,000 locals a year improve their employability.

The intention is to break socioeconomic cycles for locals, mostly in southern Dallas, and to create a pipeline for businesses established in Dallas to hire more locally based workers.

UArizona selected by Amazon as one of their Career Choice Program education partners

Amazon will pay tuition discounts for hourly employees to attend University of Arizona Online. Amazon has a Career Choice program that allows employees to pursue their aspirations. As part of the program they have an approved partner network of educators and employers that employees can access.

In the US, Amazon is investing $1.2 billion by 2025 to help their employees move into higher paying jobs. Arizona online has ranked among the top 10 in the US News and World Report’s Best Online Bachelor’s Programs.

Programs Promote Well-Being and Career Support for the Neurodiverse Community

The Neurodiversity Career Connector https://ndcc.simplifyhire.com/ was launched to connect neurodivergent people with companies already committed to neurodiversity hiring programs. The program was launched with 50 participating employers. The unemployment rate for neurodivergent adults is 30% to 40%. Neuropsychiatric disorders include autism, Asperger syndrome, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyspraxia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and/or Tourette syndrome

$5.9 Million State Grant Expands Employment Support for Oakland Youth

The City of Oakland was awarded a $5,896,000 #CaliforniansForAll Youth Jobs Corps grant from California Volunteers, Office of the Governor for its Oakland Forward program. Oakland Forward is a year-round youth and young adult employment program for individuals aged 16 to 30 to increase employment and develop public service career pathways in the areas of climate resilience and public safety. The goal is to provide year-round and/or summer employment opportunities for approximately 500 individuals by May 2024.

Six community nonprofit organizations are also partners in the program, including: Civicorps, Lao Family Community Development, Rising Sun Center for Opportunity, Safe Passages, The Spanish Speaking Unity Council and the Youth Employment Partnership.

Job Training Program Aims to Ease Homelessness, Homeaid Program Focuses on Construction

People who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless are finding jobs through a two-week training program operated by the nonprofit HomeAid San Diego that teaches the basic skills needed to work in the construction industry. Those who go through the program aren’t guaranteed jobs, but they are guaranteed a job interview. People in the program range in ages from late teens coming out of the foster care system to early 50s.

HomeAid works with other nonprofits, including Promises2Kids and PATH. The San Diego organization is an affiliate of HomeAid America which has 19 chapters across the country. Companies participating in HomeAid San Diego’s WORK are Lennar, Circle M Construction, Hy-Lang Electric, Alta Drywall, Royal Cabinets, West Coast Lumber, Cap Fireside, McGee Contracting, and Prevost Construction.

East Texas candle company provides job training for special education students

The Old White House Candle Company is opening its doors to special education students looking for job training. What started as an activity for Katie Cahalane to work on with her family turned in to a family business. Now, she wants to take that family business and extend it to special education students Cahalane is a former teaching assistant for the special education department at Whitehouse ISD. In the field, she saw the need for hands-on experience for the students.

Goodwill helps connect people with jobs through trade-skill programs

Local, state and national companies continue to face challenges hiring new workers, while people are struggling to make ends meet at underpaying jobs. Goodwill hopes to connect those people with companies who need them.

“We’re really a pipeline to the construction industry,” said Marvin Kelley, the director of the Construction and Trade Training Program at the Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. “And that’s one of the things that we’ve kind of hung our hat on, is making sure that we’re providing really talented individuals.”

Kelley said his team works with professional partners to identify and fill gaps in the construction industry. Goodwill also has programs for other industries, including IT, entrepreneurship and other trade skills.

Inmates in South Carolina Get a Second Chance and New Life Skills

A unique public-private workforce effort in the inaugural Energy Industry Second Chance Pilot Program was created to reduce recidivism by removing barriers to success for former prisoners. Lewis Tree Service developed a pilot program with the S.C. Department of Corrections, Joseph Outreach (the nonprofit arm of professional services firm DESA) and the REEMERGE program (which is funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency). Joseph Outreach interviewed potential participants to make a recommendation to Lewis Tree Service. Once training is complete, participants will work for Lewis Tree Service at locations across the Carolinas. They will continue to receive certain services including an assigned case manager and assistance finding permanent housing as they rejoin their families and communities.

The Duke Energy Foundation supplied nearly $27,000 in grant funding to the initiative that provides the training and support services needed to ensure the participants’ success and help them adapt from prison to the workforce and be reintegrated into society. These services include transportation, meals, transitional housing and required work clothing, as well as classes on soft skills and financial literacy.

Local nonprofit provides job training to the formerly incarcerated

Second Chance is an organization that works with more than 2,000 formerly incarcerated men, women and youth yearly, helping them change their lives. Among its resources, Second Chance offers a job readiness training program to assist formerly incarcerated people to overcome one of the most significant challenges they face – securing employment.

 An intense four-week course provides a simulated work and meeting environment that covers a range of skills from financial literacy to how to prepare for an interview. Some of these lessons are conducted with potential employers. Second Chance provides many wrap-around services, including housing, alcohol and substance abuse counseling, and connecting formerly-incarcerated clients to MediCal for healthcare coverage.

A third of American adults have a criminal record and having one limits access to education, jobs, housing and other resources needed for independence, according to The Sentencing Project, a decarceration advocacy group.
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