Our December Spotlight! is shining brightly on a new partnership established with the DC Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management by the DC TANF Employment Program (TEP) operated by KRA Corporation for the Department of Human Services.
At a networking event, Shawna Wright, KRA Operations Manager, re-connected with Danviere Battle, Georgetown Hospital, who had shared her expertise previously with customers enrolled in KRA/PGWorks’ Job–Readiness Workshops. Shawna commented, “I learned that Danviere was a member of SHRM, and I had always wanted to explore a partnership with them. So, we exchanged numbers, planned for about a month as to what we wanted to do, and Danviere proposed our idea to Claudia Jones, the Chair of the Workforce Readiness Committee.”
Their idea—for SHRM to provide a Workforce Readiness Series, focusedon four major industry-sectors, for 40 KRA/TEP participants—met with Jones’ and SHRM ‘s approval! However, in the interim, Shawna had accepted an Operations Lead position in one of KRA’s CareerSource South Florida Centers, so Jones met with Anthony Featherstone, Program Manager, and Winston-et Williams, Operations Manager, to discuss logistics for implementing the Series.
The meeting proved extremely productive, resulting in a 4-hour Kick-Off Session on July 25th, which covered Image Development; Resumes; and Interviewing Skills, including sample questions and a discussion on the Legal Limitations of Job Interviews.
Moderated by SHRM’s Carla Harris and Battle, the first Industry Session (Hospitality/Food Service/Customer Service) on October 24th, included a veritable “Who’s Who” in the industry as panelists: Vice President, National Sales, Madison Hospitality; Executive Human Resources Director, Melrose Hotel Georgetown; Director of Culinary Arts, Art Institute of Washington; HR Consultant, McDonald’s; Field HR Generalist, Five Guys Enterprises; and a Marriott Foundation representative.
After their individual industry-overview presentations, the panelists addressed questions uppermost in the customers’ minds: What entry-level jobs are there in your industry, and what are the duties of the jobs? How does one find entry-level jobs in the industry and apply for them? What are you, as an employer, looking for in job applicants? How can applicants best present themselves if they’ve been unemployed for a long time? Does your company provide on-the-job training for someone with limited job skills?
The second Industry Session (Construction/Landscaping/Maintenance) scheduled for February 6th, promises another information-packed presentation from industry experts. Also, KRA is exploring the feasibility of replicating this excellent program with the local SHRM chapters in other communities we serve.
Dr. Boone’s 20+ years’ experience in the industry is extensive and her expertise in private-, public-, and non-profit sector workforce-services organizations is unparalleled, particularly in the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan area.
