job training Archives

Cleveland Job Corps graduation

The background

Are you aware of a skilled-workforce resource in your own backyard that can help your business fill positions or help someone you know get no-cost job training? At 13421 Coit Road, in the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland, there are a bunch of yellow buildings behind a fence that look like a small college campus or a military base. They house Cleveland Job Corps offices and classrooms, its 100 employees and space for 346 residents, aged 16-24.

In 1964, as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty program, which also included Head Start, Job Corps began repurposing and renovating former military installations into dormitories and classrooms.

The current Cleveland location is the third in the area and was built in 2007-2008. The first was on Ansel Road near Martin Luther King Blvd. The second was in the Tudor Arms Hotel on Carnegie Ave. There are 126 Job Corps locations in the United States with at least one in every state. In Ohio, there are three locations: Cleveland, Dayton and Cincinnati.

Owned by The U.S. Department of Labor, the facilities are operated by private contractors. Serrato Corporation of Tucson, Arizona has operated the Cleveland facility since 2012, in addition to Blue Ridge, Virginia, and is a subcontractor at the Charleston, West Virginia, facility.

Mr. William Houston has been the Cleveland center’s director since 2012. He has been with Job Corps for 17 years and is a Dayton, Ohio, native. He says, “We have evolved from an organization that was perceived as a last-ditch effort if a student didn’t finish high school and have shifted to a residential vocational-training center for. We are seeing more students who finished high school and who want to take advantage of free technical career training. Often, students were homeless because of the current trend of couch surfing or crashing temporarily with family and friends. They usually have had jobs but want a career and don’t want to pay $10,000-20,000 for a college training program.”

How it happens

There are five phases to the program:

Outreach and recruitment
Career preparation orientation (60 days receiving employability skills, customer service coaching and an array of self-assessments, as well as basic certifications, including information technology skills and program-placement assessments)
Career development (six months to one year of training in the facility, offsite at Cuyahoga Community College and in work-based training internships; all transportation is provided)
Career transition (one to two months prior to leaving, students work with staff to develop a departure plan while obtaining employability certificates and credentials , as well as resume and portfolio preparation)
Student placement services for up to 1.5 years from graduation (centers are held by the government to a 92-percent placement goal for graduating students, which includes employment, the military, a college or advanced training)

During their time in the program, students receive free housing, basic medical care, meals, education, training, entertainment and recreation, and a biweekly living-allowance stipend that some save in order to become independent. They also are exposed to a positive normative culture with a zero-tolerance policy (no drugs or alcohol, bullying, violence, weapons or arrests). Students can go home on the weekends and during the holidays. They are drug tested upon admission.

The program is self-paced; so, students can start any day of the year and graduate all year long, not in a set semester-style like other schools. Last year, Cleveland had an 89-percent placement rate. But, to keep that percentage high, they need the help of local companies.

What’s in it for employers

The Job Corps screens graduates and works with employers as a pipeline for graduate placement. The organization produces future workers and feeds the workforce with well-trained, motivated, entry-level employees. Employers can provide students with the training that they need while, at the same time, giving the student a “trial run” in a paid or unpaid internship. When students graduate, many companies end up hiring them because the students already have basic safety skills, life skills, industry certifications and on-the-job training, unlike hiring someone from a temporary or job-placement agency.

Some of the local companies that have benefited by hiring graduates include Donley’s Construction, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, John Carroll University, Swagelok and Pipefitters.

The Cleveland facility trains students in four industries: advanced manufacturing (facilities maintenance, machine technology and welding), construction (heavy equipment operator, bricklaying and carpentry), health care (child care development, clinical medical assistant, medical administrative assistant, nurse assistant/home health aide, emergency medical technician), and security and protective services. Job Corps currently is partnering with Dan T. Moore Company and Workroom Program Alliance to equip a welding and machine shop on campus so that students do not need to travel to Tri-C.

In closing, Houston says, “We want to increase awareness that there’s a training facility preparing young adults for the workforce right here in Cleveland at no cost to the student. Our mission is to get young adults ready, and they are willing and able. These are the youth who stood up and decided to be proactive. They’re here, not on the streets. They have the skills, training, education and drive to become your next great employee.”

If you’re interested in partnering with Cleveland Job Corps, you can contact Harriet Hadley, business community liaison, at 216-541-2526 or Hadley.Harriet@jobcorps.org.

Cleveland Job Corps facility maintenance student Cleveland Job Corps carpentry student Cleveland Job Corps bricklaying students Cleveland Job Corps brick student1

downsizing illustration of team being cut with scissors

(Courtesy of Guest Blogger Cynthia Wilt, board of directors, Career Transition Center)

As leaders of your business, have you ever had to downsize your staff and disrupt your team? Where do you go for help? Where do you send your employees for help? Have you been through this yourself, so you really understand what happens to people and their families? And, what happens to the ones who are left behind – those who keep their jobs? How does the loss of their fellow employees affect their morale, their productivity and their loyalty to your business? Many questions to ponder, aren’t there?

There is always the typical government center to send them to when they sign up for unemployment compensation – where they try to help you, but getting one-on-one help is not usually possible. This was the problem we saw when Career Transition Center was started in 2011. We are a nonprofit organization that assists unemployed and underemployed Northeast Ohio residents who cannot get help elsewhere, and we have learned their needs from the thousands of people we have dealt with during the years.

Many of your employees have never gone through this situation before, or, even if they did, they may not know how to do a real job search. They need support and honesty given by career coaches who know what the employers in the area want in their new hires. You can hire an outplacement firm to handle each person or in groups, but, depending on your budget, you may not really get much assistance for each person. So, what is your moral and community obligation as an employer to help these people? How does your business value system fit into your next steps? These people were once your friends, your team and your fellow employees. What do you owe them? These are things you need to think about before the situation to lay off even occurs.

Some people immediately become depressed and afraid for their future. They tend to do rash things, and their spirit gets so low that they are not able to interview well for other jobs. They may feel that part of the job loss was because of them or their team. And, maybe they should have done something better or different. They become insecure, and some even lie to family and friends about their situation, which is unhealthy for them and for a good job search.

Do you give letters of recommendation? Do you offer assistance? Or do you just walk them out the door on the same day they are told? Many people live paycheck to paycheck and may lose their auto, their home, or worse. They need someone to help them become empowered during job transition and career change. They need to gain confidence and realize their actual value in the local market. And, they need the tools and encouragement to develop and implement a plan to reach their next step, something not available just from job clubs or one-stop centers.

Are they a part of the “vanishing middle class” – workers between age 45 and 70 that may not have up-to-date skills; so, employers will not consider them for a new hire? These people get shunned because they are too expensive, too old, or too (you fill in the blank). Sadly, this group remains out of work the longest and is becoming the new poor. They may need to learn current job-search skills and new technology to be considered for the jobs of today. How you plan for these uncertain times has a huge impact on what your business reputation is. It speaks to who might want to work for you, or what people in the community say about your business. It explains what type of employer you are. Now is the time to think about these things and make a plan for how downsizing is handled in your business. If the time comes, you will be better, stronger and make good decisions.

People using Career Transition Center