W.O.R.K. article 12/2015



The Arkansas Northeastern College Workforce Orientation and Retraining Keys (W.O.R.K.) Program was designed to take individuals unemployed and underemployed revamp there approach to obtaining a job or career. We were looking to give these students within Mississippi County an opportunity to have a foundation to stand on in order to grow and develop into something more concrete and stable to improve their quality of life through a career. 


            We have taken individuals who have had felony backgrounds, no job experience, and individuals who have just had trouble obtaining another opportunity because of previous bad job history retrained there way of processing the job search and how to go after job opportunities. One of the biggest things students lack is confident and how to properly exhibit the skills needed for a job by starting with the simplest thing such as filling out an application neatly and accurately. From there we began to dissect the little things within an interview from the handshake, their countenance or demeanor during the interview, and being able to humbly brag on themselves throughout the interview in a way that a company can see how there skill or work ethic would coincide with their work environment. 


            Initially our goal when beginning the W.O.R.K. Program was to get these students jobs. As we continued to evolve the program has also began striving to see the individuals become more educated in certain fields or return to get their degree they once intended to receive. Our goal at this point is to make our students more employable period. We take individuals through a goal setting session where we look to figure out what their career goals are. The students begin to develop a plan and focus on the steps needed to execute it. Some students come into the W.O.R.K. Program just looking to get a job but leave with a mindset and goal to obtain a career. We cover many things within the program such as Problem Solving, Math Skills, Career Ready 101, Quality Concepts, Goal-Setting, Safety, Correct Use of Tools, Computer Concepts, and First Aid and CPR. All these sessions total 60 hours of class time. Once they complete these hours they receive Career Readiness Certificate, First Aid CPR Certification, and the Certificate of Completion of the W.O.R.K. Program, which also comes with a stipend up to $300.00. 


            So far we have had 91 graduates from the W.O.R.K. Program since September of 2013. Out of the 91 students 64% have either went to work or returned to post-secondary education to receive their degree. We are currently looking to graduate 32 more students at the end of this month. 21 of those students are enrolled in our Community Corrections W.O.R.K. Class. We are continuing to move forward with the program and continue to evolve the program to help individuals that are looking for a better way to resolve their problems, which is one of the many ways Arkansas Northeastern College’s Solutions Group are looking to change the workforce of Mississippi County.

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