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.

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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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