A message from W.O.R.K. Coordinator, Michael Smith

W.O.R.K. Class 23 (February 13, 2018)

(Pictured L to R)  Jammy Parker, Jaylon Tucker, Greg Rapert, James Nick Nichols, Johnny Jones, Andrew Perry, Princell Wimbley, and Workforce Coordinator Michael Smith. Not seen are Bobby Chapple, Tory Stewart, Christopher Perry, and Marquail Webb.

First I would like to start off by saying thank you to all involved for your support during my first experience as the W.O.R.K Coordinator. The phrase “First impression are the lasting impression,” best describes class 23. Being new to the program, I really did not know what to expect. I am happy to report that the overall experience was nice. 

Class 23 of the Workforce Orientation and Retraining Keys “W.O.R.K” was a great success. This class was broken into two individual parts: the W.O.R.K. program and W.O.R.K. Plus. The first part of the program lasted just over two weeks thanks to some enjoyable snow days. The students participated in classes such as Computer Concepts, Introduction to Maintenance Welding, First Aid and CPR, and Career Ready 101. Allied Technologies Instructor, Rob Semmel, stated that the class was enthusiastic and that almost everyone in the class had something to add to the discussion topic. All of the students took the WorkKeys© test to obtain a National Career Readiness Certificate “NCRC” where half of the students scored either Silver or Gold level certifications. 
 

This year we started some new things in the W.O.R.K. program to validate the work that the students who receive certificates from the W.O.R.K. program do. Measures have been incorporated to ensure that participants will have the necessary understanding of all the materials. Additionally, students now have the new W.O.R.K Plus training following the first 60 hours of the W.O.R.K. Program. This new section of training focuses on giving industry recognized skills such as OSHA 10 for General Industry. It teaches the students cultural competencies to be used to increase understanding among people from different socioeconomic cultures who often have difficulty relating to and communicating successfully with each other. Over 70 percent of the participants in class 23 went on to participate and complete the W.O.R.K. Plus training.

 

Approximately 37.5 % of the W.O.R.K. Plus Participants have obtained employment as of February 12^th 2018.