For more info, http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/jobfairs/BlumenthalJobFair-JobSeekers.pdf Friday, February 24, 20129:30 am - 2 pmUniversity of Bridgeport, Arnold Berhard Center84 Iranistan Aven ... Continue

For more info, http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/jobfairs/BlumenthalJobFair-JobSeekers.pdf

Friday, February 24, 2012
9:30 am - 2 pm
University of Bridgeport, Arnold Berhard Center
84 Iranistan Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06604

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal will host a job fair to connect Connecticut employers with prospective employees and provide resources for job seekers including free professional help with resumes and job interviews. The event will include representatives to assist veterans seeking jobs.

Employers in the manufacturing, education, nursing, engineering, sales, banking, marketing, law enforcement, social services and telecommunications fields will showcase their businesses, providing an opportunity for job-seekers to learn more about their field and apply for current openings. The event is open to the public and job seekers of all backgrounds are encouraged to attend.

Some of the participating businesses and organizations include The WorkPlace, Comcast, Fed-Ex, Prudential Realty, General Dynamics, Home Depot, Bridgeport Hospital and the state Department of Labor.

The job fair is free for both businesses and prospective employees. For more information, call Blumenthal’s office at 860-258-6940.

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For more information about Platform to Employment, visit www.platformtoemployment.com or call us toll free at 1-888-683-5221. Getting the Long Term Jobless Back to Work Click here to also read t ... Continue

For more information about Platform to Employment, visit www.platformtoemployment.com or call us toll free at 1-888-683-5221.

Getting the Long Term Jobless Back to Work

Click here to also read the article on the "60 MINUTES" website

(CBS News) People unemployed for a long period tell Scott Pelley they have another hurdle to clear besides the dearth of jobs: the fact they haven't worked in a long time is being used against them by potential employers. Pelley talks to a group of so-called 99ers -the unemployed whose government benefits ceased at 99 weeks - and follows them for five weeks in an innovative program in Connecticut that is putting some 99ers back to work. Pelley's report will be broadcast on 60Minutes, Sunday, Feb. 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT.

It was bad enough for Frank O'Neill to be unemployed for over three years, but something he read while seeking a job stabbed him in the heart. "I've seen it in print...I've actually seen, "If you are unemployed, you need not apply."

O'Neill is part of the long-term unemployed, a new minority group being legally discriminated against by want ad copy such as "Must Be Currently Employed." Joe Carbone is president of The Workplace, which has replaced what used to be the state unemployment office for southwest Connecticut. He explains why employers would do this. "There's a sense that if a person has been out of work for a year or longer, they might be lazy...would prefer to be home...lost too much already to be useful to me," he tells Pelley. "It's unfair and it's wrong."

That's why Carbone started Platform to Employment, a boot camp for the long-term jobless. The program teaches job applicants how to look for a job and to respond to inquiries about gaps in their resumes, but even more importantly, it re-instills the dignity and confidence long-term joblessness can rob from people. Another key aspect of Carbone's program is the paid internships that lead to permanent jobs. There are about a hundred people in the program, mostly middle-aged and college educated, mostly seeking similar jobs to the ones they lost. After five months, 53 of them got jobs; O'Neill was one of them.

He was attracted to the program because of its focus on finding the right job for him. "I was so prideful and so stubborn that I would not apply for part-time positions...at the grocery store...I wasn't going to flip burgers. I have a college education," O'Neil says. "I've been successful at work. I've been working for 30 years...so when this opportunity for Platform to Employment came along, I joined it and it changed my mindset," he tells Pelley.

Pelley speaks to several others who are among the lucky few who are reclaiming their own American dreams through Carbone's program in Stamford, Conn. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there are four million people who have been out of work for 52 weeks or more and two million out for 99 weeks or more. Carbone calls this "carnage." "I can't think of a better word in this case...We ought to be angry, we ought to be giving every moment of our time figuring out how we are going to restore for them the American Dream."

For more information, visit www.platformtoemployment.com or call us toll free at 1-888-683-5221.

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Click here to watch "60 MINUTES" Overtime They discovered it by accident. When Scott Pelley and his team of producers set out to profile Joe Carbone and his Platform to Employment program, they s ... Continue

Click here to watch "60 MINUTES" Overtime

They discovered it by accident. When Scott Pelley and his team of producers set out to profile Joe Carbone and his Platform to Employment program, they started hearing similar comments from people who are out of work: if you've been unemployed for a year or more, some companies won't even give you an interview.

Although it's not hard to find job ads that say "must be currently employed," Pelley's producer Henry Schuster says that bias against the jobless can often be insidious. "Some of these people refer to it as 'the silent no,'" said Schuster. "But there's also the pretty overt 'we don't want you.'"

Associate producer Rachael Kun spent nearly six months following the progress of a group of jobless men and women in Connecticut who were enrolled in the Platform for Employment program. "There's obviously a stigma," said Kun. "Employers tend to believe that it's the individual's fault if he can't find a job."

There is currently a bill pending in Congress that would protect the rights of the unemployed. (You can read more about that bill and its sponsors here.) What do you think? Should there be a law against this kind of discrimination? Or is it a reasonable way for employers to choose the best candidate for a job? 

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Come to the job fair on March 15 from 9am-2pm at Housatonic Community College, 900 Lafayette Blvd., Bridgeport, CT 06604. Sponsored by Career Resources and Housatonic Community College in cooper ... Continue

Come to the job fair on March 15 from 9am-2pm at Housatonic Community College, 900 Lafayette Blvd., Bridgeport, CT 06604.

Sponsored by Career Resources and Housatonic Community College in cooperation with The WorkPlace and the CT Department of Labor.

Job Seekers are encouraged to bring their resumes.  Employers wil be onsite to provide info and accept applications.

For employers, vendor space is available.  Call Baron at 203-610-8679 to reserve a booth for your company.

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The WorkPlace’s Green Jobs Funnel programs are looking for participants interested in careers in green construction.  Receive the training you need at no cost to you.  Eligibility requ ... Continue

The WorkPlace’s Green Jobs Funnel programs are looking for participants interested in careers in green construction.  Receive the training you need at no cost to you.  Eligibility requirements will apply. 

Info session is at 350 Fairfield Ave in Bridgeport on February 22 from 10:00am – 12:00pm. 

Seating is limited and the info session is by appointment only.  To RSVP, please call Mike Stokes at (203) 610-8588.

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Bridgeport, CT (February 7, 2012) – Today, The WorkPlace announces receipt of a $200,000 grant to expand services provided through our Platform to Employment (P2E) program and address the spec ... Continue

Bridgeport, CT (February 7, 2012) –

Today, The WorkPlace announces receipt of a $200,000 grant to expand services provided through our Platform to Employment (P2E) program and address the specific needs of older, unemployed workers.  With the addition of AARP Foundation funds, P2E will recruit and serve long-term unemployed workers who are over 50 years of age.

Many of the jobs for these workers have been eliminated and they need encouragement and assistance to sharpen their skills in preparation for new careers.  These funds will support intensive core skills as well as occupational skills training.

P2E is an initiative never before attempted by a workforce investment board.  The investment by an organization with the stature of AARP Foundation is an acknowledgement of The WorkPlace’s entrepreneurial approach to workforce development and will expand our capacity to assist underserved populations. 

Over 3 million older adults are searching for work and many are dealing with the impact of long-term unemployment. AARP Foundation is working to reverse the downward spiral that many older Americans and their families face.

“The current economic uncertainty has left many older Americans concerned about making ends meet,” said Phyllis L. Kim, AARP Foundation senior vice president, Office of Grants Administration. “AARP Foundation is already in communities across the country helping vulnerable Americans with direct services, but we believe strongly that we must also invest in long-term solutions. We look forward to working with our innovative grantees who share our goals so that together, we can seed hope for older Americans who are struggling.”

There is a critical need to restore the long-term unemployed to the labor force.  These mature workers face daunting challenges, with evidence showing that prospective employers are often unwilling to hire workers who have been unemployed for an extended time.  That stigma is often compounded by atrophy of job skills and a collapse of confidence.  P2E provides a customized system of job readiness training and access to potential jobs with local employers in a range of industries. 

“Platform to Employment is the only project of its kind in the nation and it is already has shown promising results in placing participants in jobs,” said Joe Carbone, President & CEO of The WorkPlace.  “We have seen a number of socially responsive employers, good corporate citizens, step forward and consider hiring local workers through P2E.”

The initial pilot program of P2E enrolled 100 people, each of whom attend five weeks of mandatory workshops on resume writing, interview preparation, self-marketing and other skills.  Participants are then matched with employers who have job openings. The program enables employers to have a risk free evaluation of participants during an eight week trial period where wages are subsidized by The WorkPlace.  The expectation is that at the end of the work experience, employers will permanently hire worthy participants to their own payrolls.  In the program’s first few weeks following training workshops, nearly 50% of graduates have been placed in jobs, and the remaining individuals continue to work with program managers on their job search.

# # # 

About The WorkPlace
The WorkPlace conducts comprehensive planning, and coordinates regional workforce development policy and programs to prepare people for careers while strengthening the workforce for employers.  As national leader in the field, The WorkPlace regularly shares ideas and best practices with lawmakers, foundations, think tanks and other workforce development organizations around the country.  For more information, visit www.workplace.org.

About AARP Foundation
AARP Foundation is working to win back opportunity for struggling Americans 50+ by being a force for change on the most serious issues they face today: housing, hunger, income and isolation. By coordinating responses to these issues on all four fronts at once, and supporting them with vigorous legal advocacy, the Foundation serves the unique needs of those 50+ while working with local organizations nationwide to reach more people, work more efficiently and make resources go further. AARP Foundation is a charitable affiliate of AARP. Learn more at www.aarpfoundation.org.

The Platform to Employment program for older workers will not start until late March.  For more info, please call Mike Morgan at (203) 610-8572 or complete the P2E application at http://www.workplace.org/survey.php.  Please note that interviews for this cohort will not begin until mid-March.

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CT Post, December 26, 2011 - Vinti Singh STRATFORD -- He needed some help, just enough to make him able to help someone else someday. That's what Ronald Patton said 10 months ago, sipping hot coffee ... Continue

CT Post, December 26, 2011 - Vinti Singh

STRATFORD -- He needed some help, just enough to make him able to help someone else someday. That's what Ronald Patton said 10 months ago, sipping hot coffee on a cold day in the University of Bridgeport student cafeteria. Ten months ago he had no car, was unemployed, and was living in a home for recovering drug addicts.

Now it's Christmas, and he's sitting in a sun-dappled living room in a Stratford house on the marsh, his Chevy Blazer parked on the street outside. His housemate is in the kitchen, peeling shrimp for the enormous dinner they'll have later that night. There are empty gift bags and lots of crumpled wrapping paper in the den down the hall. They're the remnants of the Christmas presents he bought for his friend's children. His friend got laid off a month ago, so Patton invited them over for the holiday.

"He called me up, and I said, `man, I've got you,' " Patton said. "I'm an old Southern boy and I believe in helping a neighbor. I'm just trying to help him get back on his feet."

Patton's promise to himself finally fulfilled.

Patton is one of 500 city residents who enrolled in Green-Up Bridgeport, an employment program of The WorkPlace, Inc., Southwestern Connecticut's Regional Workforce Board. Funded by a $4 million federal grant, the program trains people for emerging jobs in the green industry. The grant was part of a $150 million nationwide package from federal stimulus funds called "Pathways Out of Poverty." The program pays for the necessary training and certifications to get jobs in emerging green industries.

Patton had decades of experience as an electrician, but because he wasn't properly certified, he could only get odd jobs. Through the Green-Up program, he got a number of construction licenses, including lead abatement and asbestos removal.

When he was last interviewed by the Connecticut Post, he had joined a union and landed full-time work with an asbestos and lead removal firm, which was doing remediation work on a Bridgeport school. But just about two weeks after the interview, the company had to lay off its employees because the project was delayed.

Through his union, Patton was able to get a job at a remediation site of an old General Electric complex on Boston Avenue. He's one of a handful of people from his Green-Up class who are being employed by the project.

He expects the work to last well into next year, and said the subcontractor, Brandenburg, a demolition and industrial service company, may hire him for other projects once the GE work is finished. The jobs might take him away from Bridgeport to upstate New York or beyond, but Patton is ready to go wherever the opportunity is.

It means he will have to leave the family he has made for himself in the Northeast, which includes classmates from the Green-Up program. They regularly call each other to check in and give updates on their job searches.

On Christmas morning he received a call from Jennifer Carter, a fellow student he first met at the introductory course at UB. She wished him a happy holiday and gave him the good news -- she got a full time job too, as an energy auditor. She started three days ago. Carter, the only woman in the introductory class, is now one of two women working for Mr. Handyman, a home repair company. Her co-workers call them Mrs. Handyman.

Carter's first passion is graphic design. She has a degree in it, but could not find paid work as a designer. As an energy auditor, she is making more money than she expected.

"I did spend a little extra this Christmas because I knew I had this," Carter said.

Her goal is to save enough money to buy a house -- she currently rents one in Black Rock -- and help her five daughters become self sufficient.

Carter's 24-year-old daughter LaTasha Williamson said over the past 10 months, she and her sisters have been kicked out of the house so their mother could study for an upcoming test in the Green-Up program.

"She showed her eagerness to make it and I'm proud," Williamson said. "I get my (independence) from her. Because of her I know I can do it, too."

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As published in the Fairfield County Business Journal The WorkPlace Inc. has received a $100,000 grant from Citi Community Development to enhance services currently offered through Platform to Employ ... Continue

As published in the Fairfield County Business Journal

The WorkPlace Inc. has received a $100,000 grant from Citi Community Development to enhance services currently offered through Platform to Employment (P2E). Our innovative P2E program offers comprehensive support to long-term unemployed people who are the victims of the recent recession. In addition to job-readiness programs we offer professional health and family services to program participants.

Now with the support of Citi Community Development, participants will also improve their household money management skills and begin to rebuild their credit during a time when many lack regular income and are financially overextended. By adding financial coaching and credit-building we can dramatically improve the likelihood of financial success and long-term stability for our participants.

There is a critical need to restore the long-term unemployed to the labor force. During the period from May 2010 through October 2011, 11,338 people in southwest Connecticut exhausted the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment benefits. By January 2012, the total is expected to increase to 13,000. These residents face daunting challenges, with evidence showing that prospective employers are often unwilling to hire workers who have been unemployed for an extended time. That stigma is often compounded by atrophy of job skills and a collapse of confidence.

In addition, the long-term unemployed frequently grapple with the deterioration of their finances. Many prospective employers review credit reports to qualify candidates, but the long-term unemployed often have damaged credit due to the length of time they have been out of the workforce and inadequate restructuring of finances to account for drastically reduced incomes.

The WorkPlace’s new collaboration with Citi addresses this need.

These services will be provided by Housing Development Fund (HDF) of Stamford, which has extensive experience in providing counseling for at-risk families. This expansion of P2E services will enable the long-term unemployed to receive the tools needed to begin rebuilding their credit and re-enter the financial mainstream.

P2E calls upon good corporate citizens such as Citi Community Development to get involved. This partnership is a compelling example of how private investment and a caring community can reignite hope for the 99ers who remain jobless.

Joseph M. Carbone
President and CEO
The WorkPlace, Inc.
Bridgeport, CT
www.workplace.org

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New Collaboration Will Add Critical Financial Counseling and Credit Rebuilding Component to Successful Job Training and Placement Program Stamford, CT (November 28, 2011) – Today, The Workplace ... Continue

New Collaboration Will Add Critical Financial Counseling and Credit Rebuilding Component to Successful Job Training and Placement Program

Stamford, CT (November 28, 2011) – Today, The Workplace and Citi Community Development announced a new collaboration to expand the successful Platform to Employment (P2E) program by providing those experiencing long-term unemployment with financial counseling and credit rebuilding assistance.  P2E clients will now not only receive job readiness skills and enter a system to get matched with local career opportunities, but with guidance from the nationally recognized Housing Development Fund (HDF), they will also improve their household money management skills and begin to rebuild their credit during a time when many lack regular income and are financially overextended.

There is a critical need to restore the long-term unemployed to the labor force.  The WorkPlace notes that, during the period from May 2010 through October 2011, 11,338 people in Southwest Connecticut exhausted the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment benefits.  By January 2012, the total is expected to increase to 13,000.  These residents face daunting challenges, with evidence showing that prospective employers are often unwilling to hire workers who have been unemployed for an extended time.  That stigma is often compounded by atrophy of job skills and a collapse of confidence.

In addition, the long-term unemployed frequently grapple with the deterioration of their finances. Many prospective employers review credit reports to qualify candidates, but the long-term unemployed often have damaged credit due to the length of time they have been out of the workforce and inadequate restructuring of finances to account for drastically reduced incomes. Many lack the financial capacity to retain assets, including homes or cars needed to go to work, or to rebuild their credit scores.

The WorkPlace’s new collaboration with Citi addresses this need.

“Today’s challenging economic climate presents a need for innovative solutions to assist those most in need,” said U.S. Representative Jim Himes (CT-4). “The WorkPlace, Citi, and HDF are providing a vitally important service to Connecticut residents who are most at risk of slipping out of the financial mainstream.  It is a great example of the business and nonprofit sectors working together for the greater good.”

P2E provides a customized system of job readiness training and access to potential jobs with local employers in a range of industries.  Now those services will be complemented by financial recovery training and coaching for P2E participants, funded by a $100,000 grant from Citi Community Development and provided by HDF, a Stamford-based organization with extensive experience in providing free, multilingual financial counseling for at-risk families. 

“Platform to Employment is the only project of its kind in the nation and it already has shown promising results in placing participants in jobs,” said Joe Carbone, President & CEO of The WorkPlace.  “By adding the coaching and credit-building that Citi’s grant is enabling, we can dramatically improve participants’ likelihood of financial success and long-term stability.”

“With this program, we can enable unemployed individuals to get back on track by rebuilding their credit and, more importantly, their lives and their pride,” said Lily Lopez, Connecticut State Director for Citi Community Development.  “We are very pleased to partner with The WorkPlace, which has demonstrated tremendous leadership and impact, to respond in a holistic way to the pressing national issue of long-term employment.”

Citi’s funding also includes support for study and documentation of the newly-expanded P2E program, so that its holistic approach can be scaled and replicated.  The program will be evaluated by the Harvard Business School Club of Connecticut Community Partners, which will examine a number of variables to determine whether P2E is a factor in reducing payments made by government and social services agencies to support the community “safety net.”  In addition, the study will follow participants for up to six months after they secure employment, to validate the impact of the program on their overall financial health, including rebuilding credit; reducing credit card rates; timely payments; and establishing and maintaining a realistic budget and a savings plan.

Currently, P2E enrolls 100 people at a time in five cohorts of 20, each of whom attend five weeks of mandatory workshops on resume writing, interview preparation, self-marketing and other skills.  Participants are then matched with employers who have job openings. The program allows for a trial period by providing eight weeks of P2E-subsidized employment, with the expectation that employers will permanently hire worthy participants to their own payrolls.  In the program’s first two graduating cohorts, 34% of participants were placed in jobs, and the remaining individuals all have been interviewed.  The organization expects to run the program twice each year, to serve a total of 600 people over three years.

“This collaboration draws on the complementary strengths of nonprofit and private sector organizations, which is a proven formula for economic empowerment,” said Joan Carty, President & CEO of Housing Development Fund.  “We are pleased to work with The WorkPlace and to deepen our partnership with Citi by participating in this important program.”

HDF is a HUD-certified financial counseling agency and is also a participant in the national demonstration project by NeighborWorks and the Citi Foundation to expand and strengthen financial capability services for low-income Americans.  The organization also finances affordable housing, manages a loan fund and operates various down payment assistance programs for low- and moderate-income households.

# # #

About The WorkPlace
The WorkPlace conducts comprehensive planning, and coordinates regional workforce development policy and programs to prepare people for careers while strengthening the workforce for employers.  As national leader in the field, The WorkPlace regularly shares ideas and best practices with lawmakers, foundations, think tanks and other workforce development organizations around the country.  For more information, visit www.workplace.org.

About Citi Community Development
Citi Community Development (CCD) is leading Citi’s commitment to achieve economic empowerment and growth for underserved individuals, families and communities by expanding access to financial products and services, and building sustainable business solutions and innovative partnerships.  Our focus areas include:  commercial and philanthropic funding; innovative financial products and services; and collaborations with institutions that expand access to financial products and services for low-income and underserved communities. For more information, visit www.citicommunitydevelopment.com.

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10/14/11 Alexander Soule, Fairfield County Business Journal With nearly $10 million in federal funding, a workforce investment agency will create a southwestern Connecticut health career academy ... Continue

10/14/11 Alexander Soule, Fairfield County Business Journal

With nearly $10 million in federal funding, a workforce investment agency will create a southwestern Connecticut health career academy serving Fairfield and New Haven counties.

Bridgeport-based WorkPlace Inc. won funding from the U.S. Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services to create a regional partnership of hospitals, colleges, businesses and other stakeholders. In Hartford, Capital Workforce Partners also received nearly $5 million toward the same goal.

The grants were among nearly $160 million awarded in 20 states across a swath of industries, including health care, manufacturing, energy and information technology. The New York state Department of Labor also received $5 million to train people for careers in health care and advanced manufacturing.

More than half of the Labor Department funding nationally will be used to provide training to people who have been out of work for more than six months and nearly 45 percent of the national total will be used to provide on-the-job training, allowing participants to earn a paycheck as they learn new skills while earning a regular paycheck.

The federal government is planning a second round of grants with applications due in mid-November.

Joe Carbone, CEO of the WorkPlace, called it a rare opportunity and hopes the academy will lead to new careers for those who are in danger of seeing their federal unemployment benefits run out.

“This is a great day for our community,” Carbone said, in a statement. “The momentum fueled by these resources will energize the health care labor market and bound to attract other supportive funds in the future.”

The WorkPlace and other grantees are required to work with at least one area employer in designing or carrying out the program.

Carbone noted the health care industry is the only economic sector in southwest Connecticut to increase jobs steadily throughout the bulk of the recession and says the academy will meet a significant need for local health-care employers. That trend continued in August, according to Connecticut Department of Labor statistics, with health care and social assistance employment up by some 2,000 jobs from the month before, and more than 9,000 from August 2010.

Since mid-September, Fairfield County’s six acute-care hospitals alone have posted more than 250 open positions, some of them part-time and temporary jobs.

The federal funding is from the H-1B Technical Skills Training Grant program and focuses on preparing jobless workers for employment opportunities that often go to foreign workers via H-1B visas. The money is raised from fees paid by U.S. employers to hire those foreign workers.

The HHS Health Profession Opportunity grant targets people under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program with skills and supports needed to obtain employment and sustain themselves and their families.

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This is a great day for our community. We were informed of two significant federal competitive wins for training opportunities in healthcare. The WorkPlace was awarded more than $4.8 million from the ... Continue

This is a great day for our community. We were informed of two significant federal competitive wins for training opportunities in healthcare. The WorkPlace was awarded more than $4.8 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and more than $4.9 million from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) . Both grants will create and support the Southwestern Connecticut Health CareeRx Academy. The Academy is a regional partnership of hospitals, colleges, businesses, business groups, Labor and numerous CBO's. The HHS grant will focus on TANF recipients while the DOL grant addresses the long term unemployed. Since many of our long term unemployed particularly 99er’s, have become TANF eligible, they can be served through the HHS grant as well.  The momentum fueled by these resources will energize the healthcare labor market and bound to attract other supportive funds in the future.
 
The healthcare industry is the only economic sector in our region that has grown jobs every month throughout and since the Recession. The Academy will meet the significant need of local healthcare employers for new employees. The combination of grants creates a synergy that will enable the Academy to set grander and higher goals . The critical mass element creates cost savings that will enable us to serve more customers and do so with a holistic approach.  The DOL funding is from the H-1B Technical Skills Training Grants and focuses on preparing the unemployed for employment opportunities that often go to foreign workers via H-1B visas. The HHS Health Profession Opportunity grant serves our regional TANF customers with skills and supports needed to obtain employment and sustain themselves and their families.  
 
The commitment of four years of funding creates a rare opportunity. Our partnership will invent, and implement innovative solutions to get people back to work. We believe the Academy will create a steady flow of workers prepared for future job opportunities and success. We are excited by the commitment of our many partners that will work with us on this project. Our most in need and the long term unemployed, especially 99er’s, have reason to be hopeful. This initiative was built with an understanding of their unique needs and challenges. They should be comforted knowing that help is on the way.
 
I also would like to extend my gratitude to Senator's Lieberman and Blumenthal, Congressman Rosa DeLauro and Congressman Jim Himes for their support of our proposals. Help from our elected officials is invaluable and we are fortunate to have them in DC. Major kudos to Adrienne, Tom Sobo, Gino and all our folks who worked on these grants. Another job well done.  Best, Joe
 
Joseph M. Carbone
President & CEO
The WorkPlace, Inc. Close

The job market took another hit last week when the U.S. Department of Labor reported zero job growth in August and unemployment remained above 9 percent for the fifth straight month. We are tw ... Continue

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Tarice Gray - About 9 percent of Connecticut's population is unemployed. Those people face a limited job market, a pool of benefits that may be drying up and, in some cases, unemployment discriminatio ... Continue

Tarice Gray - About 9 percent of Connecticut's population is unemployed. Those people face a limited job market, a pool of benefits that may be drying up and, in some cases, unemployment discrimination. There are some efforts to penalize employers who discriminate on the basis of employment status, but it's not so simple.

Listen to the Complete Story at WSHU.org >

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Worker Lands Employment in Green Jobs Marketplace Former electrician Ronald Patton has a new career in the emerging green jobs field, thanks to the department\'s Pathways Out of Poverty funding. Pat ... Continue

Worker Lands Employment in Green Jobs Marketplace

Former electrician Ronald Patton has a new career in the emerging green jobs field, thanks to the department\'s Pathways Out of Poverty funding. Patton, who was unemployed, enrolled in Green-Up Bridgeport, an employment program of DOL grantee WorkPlace Inc., known as Southwestern Connecticut\'s Regional Workforce Board. He eventually graduated with a multitude of certificates in various green job skills and now works for a local asbestos and lead removal business. He also has joined Connecticut Laborers\' Local 665, earning a good union wage. Patton welcomed the program\'s help because it \"was a new beginning which gave me an opportunity to stand on my own two feet again.\"

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Rhetoric aside, the real crisis in today's economy is not about spending, it's about jobs. And the problem is getting worse, not better. Unemployment rates continue at dangerously high levels. Privat ... Continue

Rhetoric aside, the real crisis in today's economy is not about spending, it's about jobs. And the problem is getting worse, not better.

Unemployment rates continue at dangerously high levels. Private businesses are reluctant to hire, and the public sector is cutting at every level. Worse is the recently observed phenomenon of discrimination against the jobless -- many ads for open positions specifically state an applicant must have or recently had a job. This puts a huge group of long-term unemployed people at an enormous disadvantage.

It all adds up to making programs like the one described in Sunday's Connecticut Post that much more valuable. Green-Up Bridgeport, from The WorkPlace, Inc., helps train people for jobs in the environmental field. It's paid for with $4 million in federal funds as part of the larger 2009 stimulus package.

And it's having an impact, as officials say at least 100 people have found full-time employment with many more on the way.

There's always a cost-benefit analysis with this kind of spending -- is this really the best way to make use of federal dollars? But it's not just one job; it's also about the kind of training that makes future employment more likely, and training in the kinds of fields that the economy needs and from which society can benefit.

Environmental cleanup positions of the type described in Sunday's story are vital to a city like Bridgeport, with acre upon acre of contaminated, potentially useful properties littering the city. There is work that needs doing, and this kind of program gives people the training, and experience, they need to do it.

It will take much more to get the economy going, but it is vital, especially in a time of such desperate unemployment conditions, that job-training programs be prioritized and not offered up as cuts just to please the deficit-obsessed.

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CTPost.com | Vinti Singh, Staff Writer NORWALK -- Not too long ago, Jennifer Carter, an unemployed graphic artist looking for job prospects, said the thought of setting foot on a construction site in ... Continue

CTPost.com | Vinti Singh, Staff Writer

NORWALK -- Not too long ago, Jennifer Carter, an unemployed graphic artist looking for job prospects, said the thought of setting foot on a construction site intimidated her. But on a recent day in July, Carter looked at ease in her yellow hard hat and tan work boots as she walked around an apartment complex in Norwalk. She was a part of a team of workers and contractors that was replacing all the windows in the complex with more energy-efficient ones.

That she was there was proof that the intensive job training classes she has been enrolled in since February are starting to pay off, literally. Carter, who was unemployed six months ago, is working full time and is making $15 an hour -- at least for the next six weeks. The position is only temporary, but Carter said she is happy to be working for now.

Carter is one of the 500 Bridgeport residents who enrolled in Green-Up Bridgeport, an employment program of WorkPlace, Inc., Southwestern Connecticut's Regional Workforce Board. Funded by a $4 million federal grant, the program trains students for emerging jobs in the green industry. The grant was part of a $150 million nationwide package from federal stimulus funds called "Pathways out of Poverty" that the Department of Labor distributed nationwide.

The grant stipulates at least 350 of the graduates must have landed a job by the end of the program. So far, 100 people have found full time employment, WorkPlace, Inc. Assistant Vice President Tom Long said.

In Green-Up, students choose a field that interests them, such as construction and building maintenance, and the program pays for all the necessary training and certifications they need to get employed. Carter and her classmate, Ronald Patton, both chose to go down the construction route. They both completed a specialized construction program and earned about 15 licenses, including an asbestos abatement license and lead removal license. They chose the winning specialization, said Richard Williams, Patton's caseworker, since graduates are landing more jobs in construction than the program's other specialties.

Patton has 20 years of experience as an electrician, but never earned any official certifications. He also spent years recovering from a cocaine addiction. Today he is totally clean, but before Green-Up, he couldn't line up any work besides odd wiring jobs. Carter, 47, could not find any work in the graphic design field, despite having recently earned a degree from the University of Bridgeport. The two turned to the training program hoping for a steady income and new career.

Patton got a job with EnviroGuard, a Seymour based asbestos and lead removal firm, and is on a team of eight people who are removing the asbestos in Wilbur Cross School in Bridgeport. He joined Connecticut Laborers' Local 665 and is earning a union wage, which is more than $20 an hour. The job at Wilbur Cross will last until October, and after that his union may pay for him to take classes in masonry and pipe fitting so that he can work on future bridge building projects.

STEADY PAYCHECK AGAIN

"My unemployed days are gone," Patton said through tears.

Patton almost missed the chance to be a part of Green-Up Bridgeport at all. He signed up the day before the deadline and a single slot was left for him. But the government handed him an opportunity, he said, and he took it.

"I'm hoping that I show that this program works and that they'll put more money into it," Patton said. "Quite a few guys in the class were just there taking up slots not putting any effort in it. And I think, why did you have to waste all that government money when there are so many folks out of work? The program works if you work it. But you've got to put your foot forward."

With the job he has now, Patton thinks he can save up and buy his own place somewhere in the greater Bridgeport area. He currently lives at Pivot Ministries, a Christian home for substance abusers.

He is still taking classes, though, to hedge his bet on which green industry will grow the quickest. His last Green-Up funded class is a waste water treatment course, which he said is difficult because it is so math intensive.

"I haven't done math like this since I graduated in 1977," he said.

Williams said Patton is one of the success stories, and attributed it to his work ethic. As a single man with no children, Patton also had the advantage of being able to dedicate all his time to his classwork. Other men, who have families and outstanding bills, cannot afford to take the time to go to class full-time, Williams said.

FIELD EXPERIENCE

And there are other obstacles. Jobs in the green industry are still hard to land, as Carter is finding out.

There is a chance one of the contractors working with Carter may choose to hire her at the end of the six weeks, but it's a slim chance.

"Unfortunately at this time, we're not looking to expand our team," said the owner of Master Builders & Design, a Fairfield- based construction company that was contracted for the job. "The economy is shaky and government work is spotty at best. Nobody's really planning on doing a lot of hiring."

The owner, who asked his name not be used, said he and his wife employed 60 people at one time and renovated apartment buildings in New York City. Now he does weatherization and other small projects in Connecticut. The window replacement project in Norwalk is funded through federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, and he said it could be months before another government job like this comes around.

Students like Carter, he said, are graduating from programs like Green-Up with book knowledge, but he would not consider hiring anyone without at least three years of field experience.

"They should be working in the field and taking classes, not the other way around," he said.

Carter said she knows no matter how well she did in the classroom, she has to prove herself out in the field. At the apartment complex, her job is to guard the construction site and keep residents away. She wants to go in the apartments and at least watch the contractors install the windows, but she has yet to be offered the opportunity.

"Without the experience, the classes are useless," Carter said.

Still, she is continuing her studies. She is enrolled in an online LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification course and studies her textbook while sitting at her guard post. She needs the LEED certification to take a computer assisted design course. Once she completes that, she may finally be able to achieve her dream, which is to use her passion for graphic design to help design energy efficient homes.

The Connecticut Post was following a third person, Sam Bonnacci, who said he no longer wishes to participate in the series.

Contact Vinti Singh at vsingh@ctpost.com or 203-330-6285. Follow Vinti at Twitter.com/Vintisingh.

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