WDC Partners with SCC to Increase English Language, Career Readiness Skills
The Spokane Area Workforce Development Council is working with Spokane Community College to deliver career readiness training to people with limited English language skills.
The Integrated - Digital English Acceleration (I-DEA) grant was awarded to Washington's community and technical colleges by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help English language learners improve digital, career and college readiness skills. The three-year project has a goal of serving 1,600 low-level English as a second language (ESL) learners throughout the state.
WDC Workforce Coordinator Patricia Robinson helps teach the class once a week at SCC's Hillyard Center where she uses visuals and technology to guide students. Together with SCC instructors she works on the biggest skills they need to be successful, including language, job skills and money management.
"The goal is for each student to walk out of here with an application, a résumé and knowledge of how to successfully interview," said Robinson.
As our economy continues to rebound, our businesses need the many talents that our diverse workforce brings. Many people have advanced training but need the language skills to be able to put them to work in Spokane. This program will help connect more people to jobs and contribute to our economic growth.
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First Annual KHQ/WorkSource Spokane Job Fair Set for April 9
The WDC has partnered with KHQ and WorkSource Spokane to
host a job fair Wednesday, April 9 at the Lincoln Center. The event is expected to draw several hundred attendees and will be occurring at the same time as a similar job fair in Post Falls, also in partnership with KHQ.
Booth space is free to employers and open to all industries. Those attending must have current openings at the time of the fair. For more information or to reserve your space, contact the WorkSource Business Services Team at BusinessOutreach@esd.wa.gov or 509-532-3186.
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Mattke Meets with Interim Assistant Sec. of Labor Seleznow
WDC CEO Mark Mattke met with Interim Assistant Secretary of Labor, Eric Seleznow, at recent American Association of Community  Colleges Workforce Development Institute.
Seleznow supports strong partnerships between local workforce boards and community colleges to leverage their collective resources and develop the 21st century skills needed by industry. He pointed to the success of recent grants where key sectors have engaged with the workforce system to drive changes in training curricula and then hired newly-skilled workers for in-demand jobs. He also indicated that this strategic collaboration in the development of the talent pipeline will continue to be a vital component as new funding opportunities arise and communities that can effectively implement these models will have a competitive advantage in the future.
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Spokane Veteran Gains Skills, Interested in Mentoring Others through WorkSource
Nathan, an Army veteran, admits he has made mistakes. While incarcerated, he was enrolled in the Restart program through SNAP, which teaches intensive job-skills classes and partners with WorkSource to help find individuals with criminal histories jobs. The program helped him be able to explain his past to potential employers, and he was connected with Seth Maier from WorkSource Spokane and the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program.
Nathan secured placement in transitional housing, and through networking, found a job in sales at a computer hardware company. His employer is supportive of his desire to return to school and has tailored his schedule to fit around his classes in hardware development.
"He also has expressed interest in becoming a mentor for our regional Veterans Court, where defendants are matched with these mentors to ensure graduation through the program is met," said Maier. "I think he has recognized he made a mistake, paid the punishment and is not only moving forward in a positive light, he intends to work with other veterans to help them not make the same mistakes he has." |
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Upcoming Events
March 6
Next Generation Zone
901 E Second Street
Spokane, WA 99202
March 13-15
Eastern Washington University
138 Communications Bldg
Cheney, WA 99004
April 9
7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
Lincoln Center
1316 N Lincoln
Spokane, WA 99201
April 9
10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Lincoln Center
1316 N Lincoln
Spokane, WA 99201
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