Posts by Marcie Dingle

In December 2022,  Shree Royal—eager to explore her options for a major career change—attended a Chicago Housing Authority Job Fair, where she met Eric, a Career Coach with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, for which KRA operates both the Chatham Workforce and Education Center and the Westside American Job Center WAJC. Eric was impressed with Shree’s confidence, personality, and professionalism, and while assisting with her resume update, noted she had worked for UCAN as a Residential Treatment Specialist, and possessed applicable skillsets transferable to many aspects of a KRA Business Services Representative position. He referred Shree to the KRA/WAJC, where an
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Since 1987, March has been designated as Women’s History Month (WHM), an observance that celebrates the often-overlooked contributions of women to every facet of U.S. culture, history, and society. As a national operator of Career Services Programs for WIOA-, TANF-, and ARPA-funded clients, KRA excels in providing workforce-development services that prepare jobseekers for today’s competitive job marketplace. Since 1981, supporting women in the workforce has been in the forefront of the company.  Initiatives such as KRA’s Leadership Edge Academy, professional membership benefits, wellness programs, Employee Experience Surveys, and expansion of paid-leave benefits, continue to foster a culture of growth, career
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It would not be unusual for Joseph L. Seymour, Managing Director, Operational Excellence, to attend the Southeastern Employment and Training Association (SETA) 2023 Spring Conference, for which KRA is a Sponsor and Exhibitor, March 12-15, at The Peabody Memphis. What is unusual is that he—a much sought-after, industry-conference speaker, video producer, and workshop facilitator since 2010—will not be presenting, because as SETA’s 1st Vice-President and Chair, Program Planning Committee, he will be hosting the event along with Amy Ezell, SETA’s Tennessee Representative. More than 425 registrants will have the opportunity to capitalize on a dynamic program of workshops, benefitting from
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The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership (The Partnership) Hospitality and Tourism Sector Center, and the Westside American Job Center, operated by KRA, are hosting a First Interview Event on March 1, 2023. The  event is being convened on behalf of multiple employer-partners, e.g. Aramark Uniform Services, Bon Appetit Creperie, KRA, Marriott Marquis, Omni Hotel, Park Hyatt, Pyramid Partnership, Quest Foods, Rush Medical College, SMASHotels, and Sugar Rimz. Employers will be interviewing on-site for Accounting, Food & Beverage, Front Office, and General Management; Food Preparation and Service; Sales; and Security positions, ranging from $17-$24 for hourly positions, and up to $72,000 for
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On February 19th, KRA Corporation will celebrate its 42nd year, making history as the only nationally recognized   Black-owned business, operating Business- and Career-Services Programs for Workforce Boards, social service agencies, and city/county jurisdictions. In our early years, KRA provided an extensive array of workforce-policy support and professional services to the USDOL. Today, The KRA Way is a commitment to provide our clients, customers, and communities an unparalleled 5-Star Workforce Development Experience, based upon Core Values we’ve embraced since 1981: Principles – Trailblazing is in our DNA Knowledge…our foundation for creating Innovative program solutions Responsibility…our promise to continuously offer Exceptional customer service Achievement…our proven record
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In October 2022, KRA announced that the company had rebooted its highly successful “Searching in San Diego” podcast over to KRA’s The Hub for on-demand access to workforce topics and trends you need to know on the go! We invite you to access the most recent five episodes, hosted by Maxine Suka, The Hub Host and KRA Director of Workforce Operations, Strategic Initiatives, below:   E-1: Ms. Suka extends a Welcome to The Hub E-2: Celebrating Workforce Development Month. E-3: A discussion on Advancing Employment for People with Disabilities with Patrick Boxall, KRA Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer. E-4:
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“Hidden” Black American History Makers   Black History Month, February 1 – March 1 since 1976, acknowledges the invaluable contributions of Black Americans to the history of the United States. The title of our article is inspired by the 2016 book and film, Hidden Figures, the untold story of—Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson—brilliant “human computers” who solved incredibly complex mathematical problems for NASA engineers at the Langley Research Center. For the first few years, they worked in the all-Black West Area Computing unit, forming the nucleus of one of the greatest operations in history, i.e. launching John Glenn
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  Gina Brotherton Mayo, Career Readiness Facilitator & Special Projects Coordinator, and Michael Williams-Brown, Youth Career Coach—both staff of the KRA PGWorks Employment & Training Program—co-presented two “Resilience for Success” Workshops: The Snap-Back: A Youth-Focused Guide to Developing Resilience for Success at the Gateway of Your Future demonstrated the importance that resilience plays in the success of our Youth, and included guidance on how to navigate the pitfalls of life, while maintaining motivation and focus. Ms. Mayo discussed the “7 C’s”, the essential building blocks of resilience; mapping out a Personal Resilience Plan; and explored Best Practices on how and
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January 15, 2023 A Time to Remember, Reflect, and Resolve to Realize His Dream Known generally as the “March on Washington”, the rally was actually promoted as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a call-to-action as critical today as it was, sadly, 60 years ago on August 28, 1963. In front of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic I Have a Dream speech, regarded as one of the finest speeches in the history of American oratory, to a crowd estimated at 200,000 strong. An excerpt from Dr. King’s 17-minute speech includes, “I say
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KRA Chicago WAJC Customer Lands Six-Figure Dream Job Despite the recurring instability of his chosen occupation, a Tool & Die Maker in the Manufacturing Industry, Michael S. (Michael) maintained a 22-year career—until early 2020.  “I don’t recall ever being unemployed; it was the first time when the Pandemic hit.” When he applied for unemployment benefits, Michael, 39, learned about the WIOA Program at the KRA Westside American Job Center, operated for the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership.  When he enrolled, Mike Wolske (Mike) was assigned as his Career Coach. During one session, they discussed a possible career change—such as IT Network
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