Monthly Archives March 2013

This month, the Spotlight! is shining on the three SCWorks Career Centers in the Waccamaw Region of South Carolina, which are funded by the Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments, and operated and managed by KRA.  This WIA (Workforce Investment Act) program for Adult/Dislocated Workers and In-School/Out-of-School Youth (ISY/OSY)* encompasses a tri-county area and provides comprehensive workforce services for Regional jobseeker-and employer-customers. For jobseekers, services include interest, aptitude, and personality assessment; development of Individual Employment Plans; skills upgrading through occupational training and OJTs; career coaching, counseling, and guidance; instructional job search technique workshops; job referral, placement and retention services; special supportive services, as
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Last year, KRA/SCWorks*, Goodwill Industries of Lower South Carolina, and the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce hosted a Job Fair to benefit un- and under-employed community residents in the Waccamaw Region of South Carolina.  According to Rusty Gaskins, KRA Business Services Representative (BSR), who served on the Planning Committee, “Our 2012 Job Fair partnership effort was so successful that we decided to co-host another, which we did on February 28th at the Myrtle Beach Mall.  The Job Fair took about 9 months to plan, and for KRA was truly a team effort.  In addition to soliciting employers and jobseekers
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Nineteen young customers, from the  KRA/SCWorks One-Stop Career Center in the Lower Savannah Region of South Carolina, accompanied Jahkesha Abraham, KRA Program Manager, and Evelyn Stanley, KRA Career Agent, to a Youth Symposium, hosted by staff of the Lower Savannah Workforce Development Board (LSWDB); the LSWDB Youth Council; and Voorhees College, Symposium site.  On Friday and Saturday, March 15th and 16th, transported by bus service supplied by the Williams Chapel AME Church of Orangeburg, the group arrived in Denmark in time for the start of each day’s workshops, enjoyed lunch and comraderie, and returned to the KRA/SCWorks’ Orangeburg office a little after
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For the past few months, KRA Corporation’s other News venue, the Monthly Spotlight!, featured a series of articles on the Power of Partnership.  Several KRA/partner relationships were highlighted…those with businesses, civic organizations, colleges/universities, community agencies, etc.  However the one partnership not addressed…is the one between a KRA Career Agent and a KRA jobseeker-customer. This special relationship, forged sometimes with more than one Career Agent, can last 5 weeks, 5 months, or even 5 years…however long it takes for a customer to get onto the right career path.  Gloria Gil McKeown, 46 and married with one step-son, immigrated to the USA from
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FUSE (Focus on Utilizing Self-Sufficient Energy) is an innovative component of a PGWorks Job Readiness Program for TANF recipients, which KRA Corporation operates for the Prince George’s County (Maryland) Department of Social Services.  The intensive 30-day FUSE curriculum capitalizes on each customer’s assessed abilities, interests, and skills, and weaves them into a detailed Individual Responsibility Plan for workforce success. Affected by downsizing, Tina Edmundson, who enrolled in FUSE with a solid work history and an Associate’s degree in Business Administration, reported, “Ashelley Wilder, my KRA Career Agent, took the time to address my feelings as an individual.  During our sessions together, she encouraged me
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On February 12th, KRA/CTWorks’ staff began the day with a “meet and greet”, giving a warm Connecticut welcome to guests and speakers invited to participate in Empowered for Success, the focus of a full day devoted to staff development and training.  According to Jerry Santostefano, Customer Service Representative, “These training days are held twice a year and are a welcome activity, are always fun and informational, and a great way to spend time with other staff that we do not see that often, as we work out of four different offices here in the North Central Region.” Based upon a staff survey conducted
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