Archives for Company News

KRA jobseeker-customer Michele Burden, 33, has been writing with a passion since she was 12 years old.  The mother of  three, after receiving notice that her first book had been accepted for publication, shared the good news with her KRA/VIEW (Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare) Job Readiness Academy (JRA) classmates.  “Whatever you want to do in life, if you stay focused you can accomplish anything!  I have seen many days of struggle and hardship, and now success!  I am very passionate about my work and I want that known to the world and to my children.”  She also shared
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Last month, in cooperation with its client, the Norfolk Department of Human Services, the KRA/VIEW (Virginia Initiative for Employment Not Welfare) Program’s Instruction Team launched a campaign against illiteracy: VITAL…VIEW Instructors Take Action for Literacy.  Tiffany J. Haynes, KRA Lead Instructor, and Sheena Griffin and Frederick Smith, KRA Instructors, based the decision to create a targeted anti-illiteracy project, in part, on jobseeker-customers’ scores on the TABE (Test of Adult Basic Education.)  Essentially, TABE is a placement test that covers the basics of reading, English, and math, and requires a certain level of literacy for an acceptable grade-score in each category.  Adequate
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When Sade Wood, 26, and mother of four, enrolled in the Norfolk KRA/VIEW (Virginia Initiative for Employment Not Welfare) Program on April 30, 2012, she already had her sights set on a career in the medical field.  According to Kirk Houston, KRA Case Manager, “Sade knew what she wanted all right.  She told me that her goal was to enroll in the Certified Nursing Assistant [CNA] Program offered by the Tidewater Community College [TCC] Job Skills Training Program [JSTP].  And, I told her that Ninette Adams-Terry [KRA Job Coach] and I would do everything we could to make that happen…but
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This month’s Spotlight! article is the second of a three-part series highlighting an industry vital to the American economy…Hospitality, and the role that KRA programs play in maximizing job development and placement opportunities presented by a significant industry sub-group…the Restaurant sector.  Seven years ago, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported that the industry presented new and increasing job opportunities as a high-growth sector, and was projected to add substantial numbers of new jobs to the economy. However, the 2008-2009 recession hit every industry very hard, with the Restaurant sector being one of the most affected. When the economy nose-dived, consumer
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Kenneth S. Sales, Business Services Team Lead for KRA’s workforce operations in the Waccamaw Region of South Carolina (SC), was selected by the Williamsburg County Economic Development Board to participate in a series of critical panel-discussion meetings focused on the development of a Strategic Plan to guide the County’s economic development goals over the next 5 years.  Facilitated by Boyette Strategic Advisor (BSA), an economic development consulting firm, the first meeting on August 22, 2012, was intense, running from 8:00am to 7:30pm, and included a different focus-group discussion every hour and 15 minutes.  Sales, whose expertise was integral to the discussions on
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Three months ago, Rusty Gaskins, SCWorks/KRA Business Services Representative (BSR), and Aaron Johnson, Business Services Coordinator, Waccamaw (South Carolina) Regional Council of Governments, KRA client, met with high-ranking Integra Fabrics’ executives Terry Purcell, CEO; Debbie McArthur, President; Kelli Finney, Vice President of Administration; and Ron Swank, Director of Fabrication, at their plant in Loris.  According to Gaskins, who initiated the meeting, “Mr. Johnson and I met with the executives to explore the development of a mutually productive partnership between Integra and KRA.  During the meeting, we learned about Integra’s decision to expand production of its customized fabric-design services in the Hospitality/Tourism and
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Two weeks ago, it was reported that the Cross Collaboration Edge, a training workshop convened for KRA programs in the Mid-Atlantic Region, was extremely successful.  Basically, that event focused on staffs’ “hard skills” development.  In contrast, on July 31, 2012, KRA’s CTWorks program in the Greater Hartford area in the North Central Region of Connecticut, held a training event that addressed “soft skills”.  What’s the difference?  According to HR experts, to be good at hard skills usually takes ‘smarts’ or IQ (left-brain logical center). To be good at soft skills usually takes Emotional Intelligence or EQ (right-brain emotional center).  Examples of hard
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On Saturday, August 4, 2012, Thomas Davis, Program Manager, and Stephon Henderson, Job Developer, of KRA’s Job Development and Placement Services Program, and Katina Bryant, Quality Assurance Specialist, from KRA’s Work Readiness and Placement Services Program…both in Washington, DC…participated in the 1st Annual Teen Parent Summit, sponsored by the DC Department of Human Services (DHS) Family Services Administration Teen Parent Assessment Program (TPAP). The free event was open to the public; however, it was intended primarily for pregnant and parenting teen mothers and fathers.  According to DHS/TPAP, the Summit theme was Removing Barriers: Turning Challenges into Success, and the goal was
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Many jobseeker-customers come to KRA with goals and objectives that, with dedication and perseverance, can be achieved within a few months. However, there are those whose long-range aspirations take much longer to realize. The following story is representative of the hundreds of customers who work with a KRA Career Agent…their primary point-of-contact…for a year, or more, to achieve their long-range career objectives. On November 20, 2010, after a WIA (Workforce Investment Act) Orientation, 20-year old Kendall Rush enrolled in a KRA Out-of-School Youth Program.  During the development of his Individual Employment Plan (IEP), his assigned Career Agent discovered that he wanted Occupational Skills Training in welding,
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Recently, the Work Participation, Placement, and Support Services Program, operated by KRA Corporation for Baltimore City Department of Social Services’ recipients, hosted a Networking Dinner and Financial Workshop for 25 customers who recently achieved permanent employment, including administrative, dietary aide, health care, and labor positions. The honored customers, who will continue to work with KRA Retention Career Agents (RCA) during 12 consecutive weeks of full time employment, were encouraged to invite spouses, other guests, and relatives, including their children who were treated to games and a movie by staff and “Hire One Youth” student volunteers working at KRA for the
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