It’s a problem some 46,000 Nevadans are dealing with: Long-term unemployment. But there’s a new program in Las Vegas aimed at helping some get back to work.
Grace Barnes lost her job more than a year and a half ago, then slowly she lost everything else, all while trying to find a new job.
“I had savings and I exhausted that and so consequently I lost my home, my vehicle,” said Barnes.
She is one of Nevada’s long-term unemployed. Barnes has an MBA and more than 20 years experience as a health care practice manager but still hasn’t been hired. A program new to Nevada is giving her hope for the future.
“I’d gotten to a point where, what am I doing wrong? I know I have a lot of skills and expertise, why am I not being hired and this program is going to help me understand that,” said Barnes.
It’s called Platform to Employment and it’s a five-week program aimed at giving the long-term unemployed the tools they need to finally land that job.
“It’s not a job training program, that may come later but before you can do that you have to put the person in a position where they are able to compete,” explained Joe Carbone, CEO of The Workplace, the company behind Platform to Education.
It’s teaching resume building and interview skills. It’s also meant to boost confidence.
The help doesn’t end when the course does. Platform to Employment will subsidize the wages of its job seekers for up to eight weeks. That gives employers a risk-free way to see if the job candidate is good fit.
“They are putting somebody back to work, they are giving them some skills, on-the-job training skills and it’s no cost to them,” said Kim Morigeau.
The five-week program only works with a group of 25 people at a time but the company behind the course is taking applications for possible future participants.
All of this is being paid for through a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Article source: http://www.jrn.com/ktnv/positively-lv/business/New-program-aims-to-help-long-term-unemployed-279843732.html