Recent News & Blog

Posted on October 29th, 2018 in Success Story Tags: ,

Destanie at her childcare job, reading to her young son.

In June of 2018, Destanie was involved in a serious car accident and lost everything due to hospital bills and her lack of income during this period. With a young child, no employment, lack of stable housing, and virtually no support system, Destanie thought she had hit rock-bottom. One day when she was leaving her apartment she met Dian Krueger, a CAFE career and employment coach who was doing community outreach outside of her building. CAFE specifically offers barrier-buster support for individuals who need help reaching their next step, whether that means financing childcare and housing, connecting unemployed residents to job training or counseling, or preventing other barriers to success.

Shortly after meeting Dian and being introduced to CAFE's education and employment services, Destanie was enrolled in YES Indy, EmployIndy's Youth Employment System, where she was able to receive assistance and coaching so she could obtain a full-time job. YES Indy providers open doors for opportunity youth, focusing on those located in EmployIndy's target impact areas, so they can receive barrier-buster support through both career and education guidance.

Not long after joining YES Indy, Destanie was employed at the childcare center where her child was enrolled as part of the Great Families 2020 program. Great Families 2020 is a two-generational approach for quality childcare on the Far Eastside while partnering individuals with a case manager and financial and family supports coaches.

Currently, in addition to being employed at the childcare center, Destanie is enrolled as a part-time student at Ivy Tech Community College where she is pursuing her Associates Degree in Physical Therapy, furthering her previously earned CNA Certification. This opens doors for her to pursue other careers in the healthcare industry and allows her to stand apart from her peers as she moves from a job, to a better job, to a career.

Through partnering with organizations like CAFE, EmployIndy is able to further the workforce and increase economic development in Indianapolis. With EmployIndy’s YES Indy Barrier Busting support, Destanie secured housing. These barrier-buster funds provided a security deposit for her housing, connected her to a paying job, and assisted with childcare. EmployIndy’s support of these programs makes it possible for many individuals just like Destanie to take steps to further their education and career by easing life’s financial burdens.


“Young people are hungry for an opportunity to come together in a safe place, and we are obligated to provide that for them.” Angela Carr Klitzsch talking about opportunity youth at the Faith & Action Conference this past Tuesday. The Pivot Re-engagement Center is one of the ways EmployIndy is looking to further the workforce and provide opportunities for young adults to succeed. Check out more photos from the event and read the Faith and Action Project's “Ten Things We Learned” from the event.

    


Posted on October 9th, 2018 in Organizational Updates, Press Releases

$7.85 million will help recruit, retrain dislocated workers

Midwest Urban Strategies (MUS) Partner Map

Midwest Urban Strategies (MUS) Partner Map

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – October 9, 2018 — The U.S. Department of Labor awarded EmployIndy and other partner cities of Midwest Urban Strategies (MUS), nearly $8 million in Trade and Economic Transition Dislocated Worker grant funding to help mature dislocated workers reconnect with employment in growth occupations and industries.

“The loss of legacy jobs has hit Marion County hard in the past two years due to changing technology, automation, trade, outsourcing, and rising business expenses. Displaced workers are faced with a traumatic challenge – both personally and professionally – which they must navigate to find their next step,” said Angela Carr Klitzsch, EmployIndy President and CEO.

“Addressing the needs of our ageing workforce is a challenge for all of our members,” said Midwest Urban Strategies Director Tracey Carey. “We’re especially excited for our partners involved in the grant and the opportunity to learn from the best practices and experiences that will come.”

The $7.85 million grant award will be used to coordinate and implement a regional strategy to recruit mature workers that have experienced a dislocation in sectors negatively impacted by technology and automation. Specifically, partners will use pre- apprentice and registered apprenticeship, customized, just-in-time training to develop best practice strategies.

The program will focus on efforts to engage and retrain mature workers with new skill sets and gain reemployment in sectors including Healthcare, Transportation and Logistics, Information Technology, Financial Services and Advanced Manufacturing.

As a partner organization, EmployIndy will receive nearly $1.1 million in programmatic funds to deploy in the Indianapolis region. Over two years, EmployIndy will be allocating these funds to serve more than 150 dislocated workers throughout Marion County. This will be made possible through formulaic career assessment systems, growing local apprenticeship programs, and utilizing career pathways toolkits created in partnership with the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL).

About EmployIndy
EmployIndy guides the local workforce ecosystem and makes strategic investments to remove barriers to quality employment for underserved and underrepresented residents. As the workforce development board for Marion County, guided by 21 business, civic, education, and non-profit community leaders, EmployIndy invests $20 million in public, private and philanthropic funds for both youth and adults annually.

About Midwest Urban Strategies
Midwest Urban Strategies represents a coordinated effort on behalf of 13 Department of Labor urban workforce development boards to marry traditional workforce development practices with economic development. Through intentional collaboration, leveraging stakeholders and efficient and creative use of resources, our strategy is to retain and grow local talent and generate a greater return on investment for our employer partners and the workforce system. For more information visit us online at midwesturbanstrategies.com or follow us on Twitter @midwestworkers.

 


TIF Training Grants

The funding for TIF Training Grants comes from the NextLevel Jobs program, overseen by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. These grantees are reimbursed for their work to hire, train, and retain Indianapolis workers. It removes the financial barriers that many employers face during the hiring process and allows them to provide opportunities for growth and employee success throughout the training process.

Story of Impact

Increasing Employer and Workforce Engagement

The vision behind NextLevel Jobs stems from the need to engage the current workforce and provide individuals with opportunities to grow within their company. In order to receive reimbursement for hiring and training, the employee must stay on for at minimum six months.

Read Article

EMPLOYER PARTNERS

TEST COMPANY

TEST COMPANY

TEST COMPANY

TEST COMPANY

TEST COMPANY

TEST COMPANY

 

Connect with us by completing the form below.

Name(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.