Archives for Company News

Within 1 week of its opening on November 28, 2011, KRA’s  Work Participation, Placement, and Support Services Program in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, was up and running and enrolling customers on December 5, 2011.  Under this initiative, operated and managed by KRA for the Baltimore City Department of Social Services (DSS), Temporary Cash Assistance recipients are supported with a comprehensive blend of workforce development activities that include a community work experience program (CWEP) and occupation-specific skills training.  By January 10, 2012, the Baltimore team, led by Nate’ Gordon, KRA Program Manager, had enrolled 25 customers, with 24 participating in CWEP 3
Read More

KRA has been recognized as a Platinum Winner in the International Competition for Marketing and Communication Professionals for a report, Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey, developed for the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). The MarCom Awards is a creative competition for any individual or company involved in the concept; writing; and design of print, visual, audio, and web materials and programs. Entries are submitted by corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, PR firms, design shops, production companies, and freelancers. The mission of the Marcom Awards is to honor excellence and recognize the creativity, hard work, and generosity of
Read More

 Career Agent Team Lead, Rosemary Klotz, has moved on to play a key role in local government as Chief-of-Staff in the administration of newly-elected New Britain Mayor, Tim O’Brien.  With KRA since 2009, in its New Britain office of the CTWorks program, Ms. Klotz led a team of career development specialists who guide KRA customers enrolled in WIA (Workforce Investment Act) One-Stop Career Center operations for Adults, Dislocated Workers, and Youth and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) programs. KRA wishes Ms. Klotz much success in her new career, and is confident that her acumen in the field of career
Read More

Recently, as part of the KRA Career Institute’s (KCI) ongoing community-support and field-excursion program, the students enrolled in the KCI Dental Assistant Training Program for Out-of-School Youth (OSY) visited the 125th East Side Library in New York City.  Accompanied by Cindy Medina, KRA Career Agent, the students seized the opportunity to obtain library cards and to check-out books on the field of Dentistry.  Some youth reported that it was their first time ever in a public library, and that they were amazed at all the services libraries provide.  Medina commented, “Many students stated they thought it was only a place
Read More

Recently, KRA President & CEO, Knowlton R. Atterbeary, and KRA staffers Krista Roberson, Operations Manager, and Patricia Davis, Waccamaw Region (SC) Youth Program Team Lead, attended the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals’ (NAWDP) 2011 Youth Development Symposium, of which KRA was a key sponsor.  Participants represented the breath of the profession including: One-Stop Career Center staff, Youth Build grantees,  community college representatives, career/guidance counselors, juvenile justice specialists, educators and other youth practitioners.  This year’s theme, “Improving Outcomes: Changing Lives”, attracted more than 400 workforce development professionals seeking new and innovative ideas and information, as well as professional development and networking
Read More

On December 8, 2011, Anita Davis, KRA Program Manager, and Kia Watkins, KRA Career Agent, attended their first meeting, as members of the Camden (NJ) Youth Council, at City Hall. The Council’s role is to assist in executing the youth mission of the Mayor, Dana Reed, a strategic part of which is to solicit input from all providers of youth services in Camden, and to have them join the Council and participate in the activities of the 12 Council Committees. Ms. Davis reported, “The invitation to join the Council came from Mr. A.D. Lingo, Council Co-Chair, and Ms. Watkins and I
Read More

Knowlton R. Atterbeary, President & CEO, and Don Scott, Senior Vice President for Workforce Operations, recently attended the 10th Annual National Workforce Association (NWA) Legislative Leadership Conference, of which KRA was a major sponsor.  Mr. Atterbeary stated, “This year’s theme, Working With Congress We Can Make a Difference, was a timely one as, right now, it is imperative that Congress focus on skills training and job creation to reduce our staggering unemployment rate, and to boost economic recovery.  Mr. Scott added, “For example, in October, right after Obama’s American Jobs Act was blocked, Senator Blumenthal held a press conference at
Read More

On December 2, 2011, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Connecticut job seekers, workforce officials, and CT state Department of Labor officials at the KRA/CTWorks office in New Britain and delivered an impassioned call-to-action for his colleagues in Congress to extend UI (Unemployment Insurance) benefits…set to expire before the New Year…for unemployed workers.  Authorization for the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program and full federal funding of the Extended Benefits program will expire on December 31, 2011, causing benefits to run out for thousands of families and individuals struggling to find work in the state. In Connecticut, there are 102,000 individuals
Read More

KRA’s Camden, New Jersey, operation, which provides community work experience, educational preparation, and occupational skills training for Out-of-School Youth and TANF and General Assistance populations, has initiated a Pantry Points Program.  A KRA innovation, first introduced for the Connecticut CTWorks program in January 2010, the Pantry is an incentive program, i.e., Camden customers who meet their program plan requirements can earn points and redeem them at the Pantry for a wide variety of personal and household products, such as toothpaste, soap, shampoo, dishwashing liquid, and many other everyday necessities.  Karen Darby, KRA Career Agent, stated, “The Pantry has only been
Read More