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May 2014
Youth spotlight
A busy month for our youth
As commencements wrap up in a flurry in May and June, celebrating the accomplishments of young adults on the cusp of new opportunities, we applaud our youth during this busy time of year.

 

CYC celebrates 'Jumpstarting our Future'

 

Oyler Students at Career Day
CYC students from Oyler at annual event.

 

Several hundred youth enrolled in Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates gathered April 24 at Sharonville Convention Center for JCG's annual Career Development Conference.

 

JCG, a program of Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, challenged the youth to put together business plans for a new sandwich wrap for teens, a new charter school, and a healthy activity to get students moving. Student teams in each category competed with each other and were judged by coaches from Cintas, US Bank Arena, Cincinnati Cooks and Citi.

 

The day was capped by a luncheon speech from Tahja LaFlore, a student at Western Hills University High School. LaFlore won first place in public speaking from Jobs for Ohio Graduates at its statewide competition.

 

71 graduate from Literacy Center West

 

Happy graduates throw caps into the air after ceremony at Elder High School.
Literacy Center West, a program of Santa Maria Community Services, celebrated 71 GED graduates May 1 at Elder High School -- Literacy's largest number ever in one year.

 

As an audience packed with proud family and friends cheered, graduates from Literacy's adult and youth programs took to the stage to get their diploma. Cincinnati State was named Partnership of the Year for the intense work Mary Horan and Bari Ewing did to test as many people as possible in the last quarter of 2013 before the 2014 GED launched.

 

Lexus Goodman was named The Next Level's female Student of the Year, while Rico Miller was named The Next Level Male Student of the Year. The Next Level is the WIA-funded youth program that Literacy operates.

 

"Our lives are better because you spent time with us," said Chellie McLellan, Income Impact Manager at Santa Maria, to the students before the ceremony. "You showed up every day!"

 

"You are some of the most resilient people I know," said Education Manager Becki Griswold, who is leaving Literacy after three years to teach middle-school math. "Now it's your turn, my baby geniuses."

 

Learning the pre-apprenticeship ropes

 

Morio Cathey attaches a connector to the wires he has stripped.
Morio Cathey puts a connector on cable wire.

Eight young men from Literacy Center West and Lighthouse Youth Services are completing a 5-week pre-apprenticeship program called 3CRC at the IBEW/NECA Electrical Training Center. Those who successfully complete the program will graduate with entry-level manufacturing and construction credentials, as well as additional grounding in math. More importantly, the course will give the youth a better chance of being accepted into apprenticeships in the building trades, from electricians to carpenters to glaziers and pipefitters.

 

A grant from the National Fund for Workforce Solutions is funding the training. The SWORWIB coordinated with Area 13's WIA youth providers to find appropriate candidates for the cohort class.

 

"This is one of the youngest and smartest groups I have ever taught," said instructor Glen Grosardt, an insulator by trade and veteran apprenticeship instructor. "They are energetic and ask lots of good questions."

 

On May 8, the class had "Tool Day." Chris Fridel, an electrician and director of the Greater Cincinnati Apprenticeship Council, led the class in stripping cable wires and attaching them properly to connectors. He challenged the students to a contest, which Morio Cathey, 21, won handily. "I love it," Cathey said of the training. He hopes to enter the electrician apprenticeship program, and said he takes the program seriously. "I take my notes home every night and type them into my computer. I'm learning .... This is the start of my career."

 

Casey staffer tours youth sites

 

Allison Gerber, Senior Associate at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, visited Cincinnati April 28-29 to find out more about the SWORWIB's WIA youth programs and providers and in particular the pre-apprenticeship class currently being held at the IBEW/NECA Electrical Training Center. The Casey Foundation is one of the funders for that program. Gerber visited Woodward Career Technical High School and Oyler School. She also stopped by a house in Price Hill being rehabbed by Easter Seals TriState YouthBuild program.

 

Introducing Anthony Steagall

 

Anthony Steagall and JCG specialist
 LaStarr Rivers.

The newest member of the Emerging Workforce Development Council's Youth Perspective Team is Anthony Steagall, 17, a senior at Aiken New Career Tech High School graduating May 23 at Xavier's Cintas Center. Anthony will be attending Wright State University, where he plans to major in sports science, and hopes to become a personal trainer.

 

"Growing up, I was heavier," he said. "In high school, I started working out. Working out has become a passion for me, and I would like to help other people get into shape." Anthony plays first base on Aiken's varsity baseball team.

 

Like many students in CYC's JCG program, Anthony is a high achiever. He is president of Aiken's Career Association (his stepbrother, Raniko Reeves, is vice president). "I found out through JCG that I'm a pretty good leader. I'm confident speaking in front of people," he said. He loves the teamwork that JCG encourages, as well as the dedication to community service. JCG's Aiken community service project was a food drive for Freestore Foodbank.

 

 "JCG has been most valuable in teaching me how to present myself in a professional environment, how to dress, how to act," Anthony said.

 

Anthony says he has learned a number of things with the help of LaStarr Rivers, the JCG specialist at Aiken. "Slacking is not tolerated," he said with a laugh as Rivers nodded. "Nor cell phones nor sleeping in class. 

 

"High school is just one step in your life," he added. "I've learned I've got to be prepared to stay on the right track."

 

Anthony is a first-generation college student and has won a $10,000 scholarship to attend Wright State. 

Employer spotlight
Pomeroy partners with Per Scholas, OMJ

 

Partnerships that Pomeroy has forged with Per Scholas and OhioMeansJobs Cincinnati-Hamilton County have been successful for the company -- and those they have hired.

 

Pomeroy, headquartered in Hebron, Ky., is Cincinnati's largest IT solutions company, employing 1,000 employees locally. Its inbound call center is staffed 24-7 year round. "We have a robust and continuous need for talent," said Rebecca Jones, Manager, Recruiting and Workforce Planning at Pomeroy. 

 

Adam Stone, Level 1 analyst at Pomeroy.

Per Scholas has helped fill that need - and in the process helped unemployed or underemployed workers from diverse backgrounds get their foot in the door in IT. Just as important, Pomeroy has taken advantage of On-the-Job Training funds available to employers when they hire displaced workers. In Hamilton County, employers can be reimbursed up to $5,000 for the cost of training a new worker. (For more information on OJTs, contact Chuck Walters, Employer Services Manager at OMJ Cincinnati-Hamilton County, 513-946-7242, [email protected].)

 

Per Scholas, which began in the South Bronx and recently expanded to Cincinnati, offers an 8-week training class in the fundamentals of IT and networking, leading to CompTia A+, the entry level certification in IT. The training is free, funded through corporate donations.

 

Adam Stone, 27, of Norwood, found out about Per Scholas when he woke up in the middle of the night and started perusing Craig's List, where he saw an ad for the class. "Was this for real?" he wondered. Stone always had a knack for fixing computers, but had dropped out of Sinclair Community College and worked a series of dead-end jobs while he tried to figure out his future. He was accepted into the rigorous 8-week program last summer, and completed it in October. Pomeroy, taking advantage of On-the-Job Training accounts, hired Stone in November. For more about Pomeroy and Adam Stone, click here. 

SWORWIB spotlight 
Time to register for MSSC meeting
 
It's almost June .... The Manufacturing Skill Standards Council's Executive Briefing is right around the corner. Here's a reminder with information on how to register:

 

June 18: Executive Briefing. The SWORWIB, in collaboration with the GE Learning Center, is hosting an Executive Briefing, "MSSC in TriState OH-IN-KY" in Cincinnati, 9:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. This event will showcase successful uses of MSSC by companies, schools, and government agencies. Ohio Gov. John Kasich has been invited to deliver the keynote address.

 

June 18: Military Credentialing Briefing. A high-level briefing from 4-5 p.m. at the 21C Museum Hotel by a senior officer from the U.S. Army Quartermaster School, on how the Army is now preparing active duty soldiers with civilian industry certifications, especially MSSC. This will be followed by a 5-6:30 p.m. reception at the hotel.

 

Suggested company attendees: Executives, plant managers, training supervisors.

  

Please click here for exact location, full program and registration information.

 

June 19: Veterans Hiring Fair for employment in manufacturing and in material handling-distribution-logistics. For job seeker veterans, active duty military members, guard and reserve members and military spouses. 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Sharonville Convention Center, Rooms 109-111, 11355 Chester Road, Cincinnati.

  

Suggested company attendees:  Company HR recruiters.

  

Please click here to register for Hiring Fair.

 

Click here for additional information on the MSSC-HOH-Army collaboration.

 

Max recognized for training 

 

Congratulations to Denise Bartick, President/CEO of Max Technical Training. Max's Developer Apprenticeship Program won Best New Product of the Year from the 2014 Cincinnati USA Business Awards. The training, which the SWORWIB helped to fund,  helped 11 displaced workers find IT jobs ranging from $22 to $30 an hour. A similar partnership, involving MAX, the SWORWIB, Partners for a Competitive Workforce and local companies, is in the works for Java training.   A recruitment fair will be held 10a.m. -12 p.m. May 28 at the OhioMeansJobs Center, 1916 Central Parkway.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

The SWORWIB now has its own Facebook page, where we will post news, pictures and interesting tidbits throughout  the month. And we also have a Twitter feed -- @CincyWorkforce. So like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @CincyWorkforce and we'll keep you up to date throughout the month!
Contact:
Kathleen Williams, 
Youth/Public Information Specialist 
                     [email protected]

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