Moira Weir, Hamilton County Director of Jobs and Family Services (HCJFS), informed Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Hartmann and Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory that options for the one-

stop job center are being examined in the wake of funding reductions that will clip Workforce Investment Act (WIA) dollars approximately 28 percent and force operating changes on one-stop centers everywhere. 

 

"We must look at the most effective, efficient way of operating the center," Weir told officials.

 

H.R. 2112, a so-called 2012 "minibus" spending bill that contained a continuing resolution for keeping the government, and the Southwest Ohio Regional Workforce Investment Board (SWORWIB), running through December 16, 2011 was sent to President Obama for his signature following its 70-30 vote passage in the Senate on November 17.

 

Although this stop-gap measure is good through December 16, it isn't the first time funding has gone awry, but it does represent the most recent round of government funding cuts to affect one stop center operations. Local WIA funding totaled $8.2 million in 2008, for example, but in 2011 it has dropped to $5.4 million. Meanwhile, funding for the center has likewise dropped 41 percent, from $5.6 million to $3.3 million.

 

The exploration of options is aimed at finding a workable solution that can continue to deliver consistent quality services to those who can benefit from them most, but at a lower cost. One option is to renew the contract with Arbor Education and Training LLC, the Austin, TX, company that has operated the center since 2005, but using more efficient, cost-effective ways to deliver the services. A second option Weir mentioned is to partner with a non-profit, or group of

 non-profits to operate the center particularly mandated partners within the WIA legislation. A third option is for a local public entity to assume operations.

 

Weir noted proposals are being sought from partners and stakeholders on the most efficient way of operating the 

center. Proposals need to address cost, function and timing and be submitted to the SWORWIB by noon on 11/29/2011. Received proposals will be reviewed by the SWORWIB and HCJFS, and a final recommendation will be made to city and county officials by 12/21/11.

 

The SJC, located at 1916 Central Parkway, brings together under one roof services for job seekers and employers. The regional workforce center is where job seekers can receive job training, career coaching and jobs leads and employers can post jobs, have applicants screened and receive funds to train potential new employees. The SJC served more than 13,000 job seekers in 2010, with 2,150 job placements.

Customers at the SuperJobs Center (SJC) will benefit from a new training resource available through coordination with their career coaches.  ResCare Academy, an on-demand, on-line curriculum featuring interactive classes, videos, tests and a personal job trait evaluation designed to serve the needs of the job-seeker, employers and the community, is now being offered at the SuperJobs Center.

 

Latrisha Payne, Education and Administrative Manager at SJC, said, "ResCare Academy has designed and implemented a game changing innovative solution to provide skills training to the customers that we serve." She added that the creative but focused curriculum is an on-line training and assessment support tool designed specifically to enable customers to fulfill their potential, empower them to build upon their current strengths and learn new skills that will prepare them for a bright future.

 

Customers of the SJC will work intensively with a trained Career Coach, then select a course plan that will assist the customer in their career path of choice. Payne said the job-seeker will have remote access to all courses for a year, become job and interview ready, receive a certificate of completion of all courses taken and, most importantly, build their confidence.

 

ResCare Academy is a valuable tool to employers, too. They will receive what any employer wants, highly skilled employees. ResCare Academy represents continuous improvement when it comes to improved job fit targeting and will increase job-matching improvements.

As much as we plan for good things to happen, even the best laid plans can take a turn for the worst. This was the case for Belinda Holden, who had her plans to retire dashed when she was laid off in 2010. Holden, who describes herself as a "very determined individual," believed that "if someone told me no, I knew there was someone to say yes."

 

What Holden didn't plan on, ironically, was hearing of programs offered through the Super Jobs Center (SJC) that would turn into the right plan at the right time for her. SJC had the right programs and the right motivators to vindicate Holden's "I am a winner no matter what" attitude, and to energize her to participate in SJC's job assistance programs including resume writing, networking, interviewing and job search skills.    

 

Funded by a National Emergency Grant, SJC's workshops became the trigger that spurred Holden to finish out an uncompleted degree in office management. "The Super Jobs Center encouraged me to move forward and finish out my degree." Parlaying her success at SJC, Holden, a wife and mother of two adult children to whom she strives to set a good example, accomplished another career goal this June, when she graduated from Cincinnati State Technical and Community College (CSTCC) at the Duke Energy Center with an Associates Degree in Office Management.

 

Holden gladly doles out heartfelt thanks to several career coaches at SJC, but she says Andy Lotter deserves extra recognition for his help on her journey to reclaim employment. Lotter has since become the Regional Employer Liaison for the Employers First Regional Workforce Network, for which the SWORWIB is the fiscal agent and lead entity.

 

Holden currently works in Hebron, KY, as a temporary customer service worker at MAG IAS, LLC, a leading machine tool and systems company with locations worldwide that serves the durable-goods industry. She hopes her hard work at SJC and CSTCC will lead to full-time employment there.

 

Holden's advice to others who find their plans gone awry is to do what she did, "be strong and most importantly don't ever take no for an answer, there will be someone to say yes."  As she said, "You write the chapters to your own book."

The SuperJobs Center was the venue October 26 for a hiring event for d.e. Foxx & Associates, Inc., a Cincinnati-based company whose brands include construction services, facility management, manufacturing services, warehouse management, background checks and sourcing and supply chain management.

 

Serving a client list of primarily Fortune 1000 business entities in the U.S. and Canada, the company, which employs over 1,300 people, had long-term temporary assignments working for commercial carpenters and pre-apprentice carpenter positions.

The first weeks of November wrapped-up autumn's Construction Clubs with three new value-added events for the students, their parents, and the program supporters. A field trip, an opportunity to take the Kuder Career Interest Survey, and a Parent Night to celebrate the students' success were innovations for Fall 2011.  

As in the past, Construction Club members participated in a team project that involved many of the aspects of a real construction career: demolition and site work; concrete mixing, pouring and finishing; carpentry; electric wiring; pipefitting with PVC pipe and soldering copper pipe; and cutting and attaching drywall.  

 

They also went on a field trip to a construction site where they had a chance to use a laser level, a chop saw, and a power hammer. Not many sixth, seventh, and eighth graders have these

Jeanetta drills.

experiences!  

 

The students then had the opportunity to take the Kuder Career Interest Survey to learn more about careers that match their unique interests.  They can go back anytime and review their results online and continue to 

Chris Matthews, left, at work.

plan their future.  

 

The final event at each school was a Parent Night where the students could show off their hard work, and parents could learn about their child's Kuder results. Research is clear that parents are the Number One influence on kids' career choices, so the SWORWIB, SC Ministry Foundation and the Spirit of Construction Foundation hope these parents continue to encourage and support their middle schoolers to build their futures!

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