NEWSWIB masthead
January 2011Vol 3,  Issue 1
Greetings!  

The Spirit of Construction Foundation (SOC) has given Build Your Future, the innovative Middle School outreach program, a big vote of confidence with its decision to award an $80,000 grant to continue the program through March 2012.

 

Build Your Future, which is managed through the Southwest Ohio Region Workforce Investment Board (SWORWIB), has reached 2,000 students in the two years following its initial funding in 2009, notes Sherry Kelley Marshall, President/CEO of the SWOR

Construction Club

Students bent conduit, installed switches, plugs and lights during their Construction Club experience.

WIB.

 

The program engages middle school students and encourages them to stay in school, succeed in math, science, and reading classes, and consider all options for a construction career, with the intent to recruit more minority students and girls into the career pathway, says Anne Mitchell, Build Your Future advocate who worked with Cincinnati Public Schools to launch Construction Clubs. 

 

"Build Your Future is unique in that it reaches middle-schoolers with a career message before they start to turn off to learning," says Marshall. "It is targeted directly to an age group that has not been served by workforce development efforts in the past, but is critically important to the future."

 

The program has achieved success through project-based learning. Carpenters, electricians, pipefitters and other industry professionals volunteer in after-school and summer school programs, called Construction Clubs, working with students who build a project that demonstrates the construction process over an 8-week school quarter. 

 

Meanwhile, a new Build Your Future website has been launched, with information about construction careers and youth programs. "This website will allow students, parents, and educators to learn more about construction and the opportunities that are available," Mitchell says.

                  BAKER'S TONYA BEESLEY PASSIONATE ABOUT CONSTRUCTION CAREERS

Tonya Beesley

 

Tonya Beesley, Regional Human Resources Manager for Baker Concrete, has worked in more than just an office since she joined Baker.

 

Although she has a college degree, she got her other degree in the "mud" working with a pour crew at local schools -- that's the Baker way to make sure that all its employees know first-hand what construction work means -- that it is demanding and meticulous, often dirty; that you work outside when it's 95 degrees or 9 degrees; but that it is ultimately a very rewarding career.

 

Beesley, President of the Spirit of Construction Foundation, is passionate about careers in construction, and the importance of reaching out to youngsters while they are at an impressionable age to get them thinking about construction.

 

Which is why she is so delighted with Build Your Future, the middle school outreach program funded by a grant from the Spirit of Construction.

 

"It's been tremendous," she says of Build Your Future, which has begun Construction Clubs at several Cincinnati middle schools so that kids can get hands-on experience with building. "Anne Mitchell (Build Your Future Advocate) has done an excellent job. You can feel her passion for it, and you can see the excitement on the kids' faces as they walk away with something they have built with their own hands."

 

Even though construction has suffered a significant downturn during the recession, the industry will face a labor shortage as its baby boomer workforce retires, notes Beesley. "By the time these students graduate from high school, and go into college, constructionjobs will be opening up," she says.

 

Beesley also says it's important that construction diversify its workforce with more women and minorities, another reason she believes in programs like Rosie's Girls, Build Your Future, and Construction Career Days, which she chairs. It's all about getting the message out to young people.

 

"Spirit of Construction Foundation was originally formed to honor its titans of industry," she notes. "Now we also focus on outreach -- because where are the next titans of the industry going to come from? We have to get them into the business first!"

 

GOODBYE TO A SPECIAL FRIEND

David  Pepper, whose term as Hamilton County Commissioner has just ended, was on the SWORWIB board for his full term, and has always been a supporter of workforce development in Hamilton County.

 

"I want to thank David for his service to the board," says Sherry Kelley Marshall. "David has worked tirelessly on behalf of workforce development since he was a member of Cincinnati City Council, and that commitment continued when he became a county commissioner.

 

SKM, David Pepper, Mike Conner
Sherry Kelley Marshall, David Pepper, and Mike Conner in November 2010.

While on City Council, Pepper advocated merging the city and county's efforts in workforce development, and making the SuperJobs Center the combined one-stop for Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Marshall says. And as a county commissioner, he was instrumental in passing a resolution that all county contractors post their open positions at the SuperJobs Center, which underscored his belief in the effectiveness of the SuperJobs Center, Marshall says. Greg Hartmann, the new President of the Hamilton County Commissioners, is joining the SWORWIB.

 

Marshall also wanted to thank those whose terms on the board ended in 2010, or who had to leave the board for other reasons: Frank Becker, John Henderson, Crystal Kendrick, Rex Lee, Rob Reifsnyder, Paul Reynolds, Richard Rust, Vaughn Smith, Pete Strange, and John Young. Marshall indicated "we owe a special thanks to Paul Reynolds, Pete Strange and John Young who are exiting board members who have served this area since the Workforce Investment Act was first passed in 1998."

WELCOME NEW BOARD MEMBERS

The SWORWIB is delighted to welcome and introduce our newest board members, who represent an array of Cincinnati employers from the private and public sector:

 

Elizabeth Baldock, Vice President of Human Resources, Children's Hospital Medical Center

Leah Cordova, Director of HR, Taft Stettinius Hollister

Sharon Hancock, Director of HR, Drake Center

Greg Hartmann, President, Hamilton County Commissioners

Deborah Heater, President/CEO, Strategic Performance Systems

H.A. Musser Jr., President/CEO, Santa Maria Community Services

Greg Oshita, Consultant, Right Management

Sean Parker, Manager, Ohio Government and Community Relations, Procter & Gamble

Kevin Powell, Controller, Meridian Bioscience Inc.

William Rutz, Vice President, Messer

Lesha Spahr, Vice President of HR, Multi Color Corp.

Teresa Tanner, Chief Human Resources Officer, Fifth Third Bancorp

Todd Uterstaedt, President/CEO, Baker & Daboll LLC

Charles Wright, Director of Agenda, United Way of Greater Cincinnati

Allen Zink, Senior Vice President, dunnhumby USA

 DRESS FOR SUCCESS TO EXPAND OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN THANKS TO GRANT
Dress for Success van
 

For years, Dress for Success Cincinnati has wanted to expand its services outside of downtown to Greater Cincinnati.

Now it will do that, thanks to a $109,000 grant from Impact 100, a non-profit that promotes philanthropy among women. Soon to be on the road is the Mobile Career Transformation Center -- a truck that will travel to Clermont, Brown, Butler, and Warren counties, allowing women to select outfits as they prepare to enter the workplace.

The Mobile Center is expected to start its travels in the Spring of 2011, says Mary Ivers, founder and CEO of DFSC. Services will include Simply Suited, which provides professional clothing for women seeking employment; and The Career Center which provides one-on-one coaching and support for job searches and r�sum� development, interview strategies as well as tools to help identify career interests and aptitudes. The SWORWIB, through the SuperJobs Center, has long been a supporter of Dress for Success, and frequently refers customers there. Congratulations to Mary Ivers and her team!

SHORT TAKES: WORKFORCE AWARD, IN THE NEWS

WORKFORCE AWARD: The Health Careers Collaborative of Greater Cincinnatiwhich develops career pathways for low-income and dislocated workers into the health care industry, was honored with the 2010 Excellence in Investing in People Award by the Ohio Economic Development Association. The Collaborative, of which the SWORWIB is a founding member, began in 2003, and has put thousands of people through its programs.

 

IN THE NEWS: 

Jim Schwab to head up Health Foundation:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2010/12/08/jim-schwab-to-head-up-health.html

Early Warning Grant awarded to Chamber: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2010/12/02/cincinnati-chamber-wins-250k-grant.html 

Sherry Kelley Marshall interviewed on WVXU's Impact Cincinnati on local job market: http://www.wvxu.org/impact/impact_archiveview.asp?ID=1/6/2011

SWORWIB taps into Jennifer Graft's expertise 

Sean Rugless' impact on the community: http://www.sbnonline.com/Local/Article/21103/69/0/Making_a_difference.aspx