Archives for Latest News

KRA/EPG/MedCerts Collaboration Celebrates CMAA Graduation On January 9, 2020, KRA Latest News reported on an innovative 3-partner collaboration that continues to produce incredibly successful results for recipients of TANF and SNAP benefits in Prince George’s County, MD, through PGWorks, operated by KRA for the Department of Social Services. KRA, MedCerts, and Employ Prince George’s, Inc. collaborated to create a pilot program after Melody Daniel, KRA Program Manager, and Sandy Mead, MedCerts National Director of Workforce Development, met at the 2019 NAWDP Conference and discussed a shared objective of providing sustainable occupational-skills development for PG County jobseekers. Mead introduced Daniel to
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  KRA Staff Engage in Trauma-Informed Care Training Recently, staff at the KRA Chicago Westside American Job Center (WAJC)— operated for the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership—during Staff Development Day engaged in an “Understanding Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care” training session, created by Kelly Butler, KRA Trainer/Special Projects Coordinator. Ms. Butler facilitated the session through a research-guided PowerPoint video and collaborative opportunities for meaningful discussion. One staff member reflected, “The presentation opened my eyes regarding things to remember when interacting with our customers, and ways we may need to address related situations. The presentation was also a mirror held up in front of my
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Lights! Camera!! Action!!! Not the type of instructions commonly used at one of KRA’s American Job Center (AJC) operations across the country. However, those were the type of words heard in October at the Chicago Westside AJC (WAJC), operated for the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership. Here is the backstory: The pilot for a new sci-fi TV show, neXt, was filmed in Vancouver, even though the show is “set” in Portland. When FOX purchased the series, the broadcasting giant decided to shoot some scenes in the Chicagoland area because of substantive economic incentives. Adam Boor, Location Manager, stated that a hospital in
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Jobseekers applying for, or already receiving, TANF or SNAP benefits in Prince George’s County, MD, have a one-stop resource—PGWorks, operated by KRA for the Department of Social Services—for receiving comprehensive education, training, and employment services. A program—piloted by KRA, MedCerts, and Employ Prince George’s, Inc.—actually took root at the May 2019 NAWDP Annual Conference where Melody Daniel, KRA Program Manager, met Sandy Mead, National Director of Workforce Development, MedCerts. “We discussed our mutual desire to provide meaningful occupational-skills training for PG County jobseekers, to substantially increase their viability in today’s competitive workplace.” Mead mentioned an existing partnership with Walter Simmons,
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How KRA Created a New Era for San Diego County Career Centers   Earlier this month, the San Diego Workforce Partnership featured KRA in its San Diego Works newsletter, highlighting our long-standing, successful client-partner collaboration. Since 2012, KRA has proudly supported the Partnership’s mission, providing comprehensive WIOA Career and Business Services through the operation of San Diego’s extensive Career Center network.
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Recently, Workforce Connections, KRA partner-client for the operation of the One-Stop Delivery System (OSDS); Nevada 2-1-1; and the United Way of Southern Nevada—collaborated to host a highly successful Staff Community Resource Fair. The OSDS is pivotal to the success of Southern Nevada’s 15 One-Stop Career Centers (OSCC) system—which includes invaluable WIOA partners—serving Clark, Esmeralda, Lincoln, and Nye Counties.  Impacted by an average 5.4% unemployment rate, in the 18-to-39 age range (population of 312,292), potentially 16,864 residents in the four-County region could be looking for work. However, are they all ready to work? Many times, there are one or more serious obstacles to
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Faith-Based Community Supports Recruitment for Westside-Chicago AJC Hiring Event  On Sunday, September 8, 2019, Ron Hearns, KRA Director of Midwest Workforce Operations, and Nichole Morrison, KRA Business Service Consultant, each visited a church on Chicago’s Westside as part of a collaborative workforce-services effort between the Westside Ministerial Alliance (WMA), led by Pastor Vance Henry, the Mayor’s Chief of Faith-Based Initiatives, and 15 local workforce-development network agencies. On behalf of The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership (CCWP), funding-partner for the KRA Westside American Job Center (AJC), Ray Bentley, Chief Community Officer, shared the idea of targeting the 5th annual Hospitality Hires Chicago (HHC)
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In June 2018, Peter Callstrom, President & CEO, San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP) announced a New Era for Career Centers in San Diego County, stating, “Effective July 1, 2018, all San Diego County career centers…will be operated by KRA Corporation.” Callstrom continued, ““To streamline and align workforce development services around the county, SDWP decided to consolidate career center operations down to a single provider. Through a competitive application and bid process, KRA Corporation, which has served San Diego job seekers since 2012, was selected to operate the entire system moving forward.” During its 6-year management of the San Diego Metro
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