The WorkPlace administers the Jobs First Employment Services program, a collaborative initiative that helps people gain and maintain independence from state financial assistance. Jobs First Employment Services is a balanced work first model which offers intensive, short-term occupational training abd job readiness, as well as support services to assist you in securing employment.

Non exempt recipients of cash assistance under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program can get help in one or more of the following:

• Occupational Skills Training
• GED Preparation
• Subsidized Employment
• Occupation Skills Training
• Support Services
• Transportation/Childcare Benefits
• Job Search Skills Training
• Case Management
• Life Skills Training

Contact: Nestor Leon, (203) 610-8556

Jobs First Employment Services is a partnership among the Dept. of Labor, Social Services, and Connecticut's Workforce Investment Boards.

The Parent-Child Home Program (PCHP) was brought to the state of Connecticut by The WorkPlace in the Fall 2011. Funding provided by JPMorgan Chase Foundation. 

The Parent-Child Home Program is a two-year home visiting program that helps families prepare their children for preschool to be successful students as their more advantaged classmates.

The objectives of the program are to:

• Increase pre-literacy skills for the child
• Improve social-emotional development for the child
• Enhance interactions between parents and children
• Strengthen positive parent behavior

Contact: Angela Porter, (203) 610-8542    For more information, click here.

The Southwestern Connecticut Health CareeRx Academy provides no cost training and support to help participants get a career in the growing healthcare field.  Benefits and services include:

• Skills Assessment
• Job Readiness Training
• Healthcare Workshops
• Occupational Training
• Distance Learning
• Internships (limited)
• Career Development Plans
• Job Placement Services

Eligibility requirements: meet family income limits applicable for program entry OR be unemployed (27 weeks or longer) and have a high school diploma or a GED AND reside in Southwestern Connecticut

The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.

For FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), click here.   

For more info, contact: Adrene Cory (203) 930-1637 

Are you looking for a career in the field of weatherization? Receive training to become a Weatherization Technician, BPI Building Analyst, Energy Auditor, Lead Abatement Supervisor or Environmental Technician/Consultant. The WorkPlace’s Weatherization Training Program will provide you with access to a variety of education, training and services, which help you prepare for the green workforce.
Download an enrollment application.

Jobs Funnel
Receive job-readiness training as well as basic training in the construction industry.  You will learn construction terminology, tools and materials identification, basic math/measuring, as well as OSHA, and opportunity to earn certifications in asbestos abatement, the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard (HAZWOPER), and Building Analyst.

For more information on our weatherization and Jobs Funnel training programs, contact: Michael Stokes (203) 610-8588

Are you looking for a career in the Environmental field? Our 8- week classroom and hands on preparation will prepare you for careers like: Lead Inspector, Hazwoper Technician, Asbestos Supervisor, Lead Abatement Supervisor or Environmental Technician/Consultant and many more!

For more information contact: L. Nicole Solomon (203) 610-8566

If you have a mortgage and are at risk of home foreclosure with a household income of less than $120,000, you may be eligible for this program that will help you become more financially stable by increasing your job skills and earning potential. Participants must be at least 60 days past due on a mortgage for their primary residence in Connecticut.

In addition to job training and placement assistance, the Mortgage Crisis Job Training Program staff provide access to financial literacy and credit counseling services.  They will also work with housing counselors and other support agencies to help improve your financial stability with lenders.

For more information or to apply:
Call 1-866-683-1682 or email a Mortgage Crisis Job Training Staff Member. 

Financial Fitness Counseling for Mortgage Crisis Job Training participants is offered in Norwalk, Stamford and Bridgeport and provided by Connecticut Housing Finance Authority. For more information, click here 

Program Partners:
Connecticut Housing Finance Authority
Capital Workforce Partners

Additional resources:

The Making Home Affordable program is a critical part of the Obama Administration’s broad strategy to help homeowners obtain mortgage relief and avoid foreclosure. Eligible borrowers can lower their monthly mortgage payments and get into more stable loans at today’s low rates. It also provides options to help unemployed homeowners temporarily reduce or suspend mortgage payments for at least 12 months. And for those homeowners for whom ownership is no longer affordable or desirable, the program can provide a way out while avoiding the burden of foreclosure.  You can also call 888-995-HOPE (4673) to speak with a person on the Homeowner's HOPE Hotline.

Specialized services for jobseekers with disabilities include:

• Benefits counselors give job seekers information geared specifically to each individual’s situation.
• One-on-one counseling - to help guide your search and instruct you in the use of adaptive equipment.
• Ticket To Work- to increase your self-sufficiency and reduce your dependence on SSI/SSDI cash benefits through counseling, guidance, and occupational training.  The Assisted Services Center in Bridgeport is an official Ticket To Work site.
• Sign Language - Interpreters are available in the Bridgeport center upon request.

Visit the CTWorks One Stop Career Center for more information on all of the specialized services and benefits you are entitled to, or go to: www.ctworksSW.org/disability
Or contact: Nestor Leon, (203) 610-8556

The Add Us In/DiversityWorks program supports small businesses in Southwestern Connecticut, New Haven and surrounding towns to hire and leverage the talent of people with disabilities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals with disabilities.

Through strengthening the connections among small minority-owned businesses, disability serving organizations, the local workforce investment board, and youth serving organizations we have built a network of advisors to create and implement strategies, models and promising practices for success.

Contact Dawn Hebert (203) 610-6556

For more Add Us Information on ODEP’s website, please visit  www.dol.gov/odep/addusin/

If you have or are on the verge of exhausting unemployment benefits, The WorkPlace’s Platform to Employment program can help you further define your abilities, your value proposition to a potential employer and ensure access to resources to put you in the best position to re-enter the labor force, regardless of skill your skill level.

After a 4-6 week preparatory program, including skills assessment, career readiness workshops, employee assistance programs, coaching and more, you will be placed in a paid work experience program for up to eight weeks. The work experience will be with a company that has a job opening. You will have the opportunity to demonstrate your skills as a steppingstone to full-time employment.

For more information, visit www.platformtoemployment.com

Platform to Employment Brochure Complete the Platform to Employment Application

For more information contact: Michael Morgan (203) 610-8572

By Working With Engage Staffing, Our Connections Become Your Connections

For the past 28 years, The WorkPlace has been matching local talent with just the right skills with businesses.

Our recruiters work one-on-one with all applicants to ensure that we can identify a specifi c path to enhance your career. We invest a significant amount of time to learn about your strengths, accomplishments, and goals for the future. We focus our resources to connect you with a company where you can grow professionally in an environment that you enjoy.

What you can expect to receive when you work with Engage Staffing?

• Competitive pay
• Career advice
• Resume counseling
• Interview assistance
• Access to free on-line training sessions and assessments in industries including software, business services, call center, finance, healthcare, industrial, legal and information technology
• A full-time position, temporary, temp-to-hire or permanent position
• Help matching your skills and career goals with great opportunities at leading companies       ...and much more!

Contact Jana Rahrig, (203) 610-6554

For more information contact: Jana Rahrig (203) 610-6554

The Subsidized Training and Employment Program (STEP UP) is an initiative of the Connecticut Department of Labor and the state’s five Workforce Investment Boards.  STEP UP provides two types of hiring incentives -- a scaled, six month wage subsidy and a small manufacturer training grant that provides up to $12,500 over a six-month period.

Qualified participants are typically residents who may have some of the necessary job qualifications but who still require on-the-job training to meet the needs of the company.

The armed forces component, known as the Unemployed Armed Forces Member Subsidized Training and Employment Program, is geared towards helping returning combat veterans gain employment and is open to any company, regardless of size.

For more information contact: Carmen Nieves (203) 610-8478 or click here.

The goal of Incarcerated Veterans’ Transition Program is to provide supportive employment that will enable veterans to achieve personal and economic sufficiency. If you are a veteran that has recently been released from prison or are near release, The WorkPlace can help you transition into employment through the Incarcerated Veterans’ Transition Program and you can receive:

• Skills assessment
• Job training
• Employment assistance 
• Supportive services (such as housing assistance)

For more information, please call:  Alan Gopian 203-610-8538

The Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program (HVRP) provides services and training to assist in reintegrating homeless veterans into meaningful employment within the labor force in Southwestern and South Central Connecticut.  Each Veteran can receive occupational skills training as well as classroom training in core skill competencies and employability skills that are required for long term employment success. Funding is by the U.S. Department of Labor/Veterans’ Employment and Training Service.

Program Partners:
ABRI / Homes for the Brave
Columbus House, Inc.

For further information, contact: L. Nicole Solomon 203-610-8566

The Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program is a program to stabilize housing and prevent homelessnes among Veterans iin Southwestern and South Central Connecticut.  Funded by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

Program Partners:
Alpha Community Services, Bridgeport
Supportive Housing Works, Bridgeport
New Haven Home Recovery
Shelter for the Homeless, Stamford

For further information, call toll-free at 1-866-683-1682 or call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 1-877-4AID-VET or 1-877-424-3838.

YouthWorks connects Southwestern Connecticut in school and out-of-school youth to workforce development services. If you are between 14 and 21,  and face barriers to employment such as deficiencies in basic skills, lacking a high school diploma or GED, are homeless, a runaway or a foster child in an unstable living environment, or have a criminal record, YouthWorks can help. Occupational skills training, education remediation and job placement are available.

You will also receive comprehensive counseling and guidance as well as follow-up for at least 12 months. 
Contact YouthWorks at (203) 416-8487

Career Connections provides Bridgeport youth parents and community members with up-to-date information and help with post-secondary education options and work experience opportunities at the Career Connections website. Click here.

YouthWorks - 2013 Earn & Learn Summer Employment program

In southwestern Connecticut, the YouthWorks - 2013 Earn & Learn Summer Employment program will give priority to the neediest youth.  The program will pay youth (ages 14-21) for up to 20 hours per week for up to 7 weeks starting in July 2013.  Federal guidelines and eligibility requirements must be met in order for youth to participate in the program.

In past years, the summer job they received through The WorkPlace was their first meaningful and paid work experience. The youth who were accepted into the program (having met all eligibility requirements) completed a full week of “work readiness” workshops to ensure they would know what is expected in professional work environments. Once they began their new jobs, they learned on-the-job skills under the supervision of their work sites. Whether in a law office, hospital, manufacturing plant, small business, government agency, or non-profit, their work often helped employers tackle projects that would not otherwise have been completed. A number of the older youth have received job offers for full-time year-round jobs, a key indicator that their employers were pleased with the experience. This would have been possible without the support of local employers.

Click here to apply online for the 2013 Earn & Learn Summer Employment program.  Please note that applications will be accepted until 4pm EST on Friday, May 24, 2013.  Applications completed after that time will not be accepted or considered.