Archives for Latest News

In February 2018, Jakayla McGill, 19, enrolled in Youthworks!, operated by KRA for the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Board, 2 months pregnant. A challenge to receiving career-development training and employment? Yes! An obstacle? Not by a long shot!! Right off the bat, Youthworks! enrolled Jakayla in a 12-week office internship with PrimeAmerica, an assignment through which she gained much-needed real-world work experience, but not related to her ultimate objective of Healthcare training, particularly the geriatric sector of the industry. Youthworks! arranged for Jakayla to enroll in coursework at Anne Arundel County Community College, providing her the opportunity for both Certified Nursing Assistant
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May 2018…Keniya Strong, 22, and mother of a 4-year old daughter, enrolled in the YouthWorks! career-development program, operated by KRA for the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation (AAWDC), developer of the Maryland Workplace Excellence Program that combines career assessment and guidance with workplace-skills training to equip young jobseekers with resources that maximize potential for workforce success. A lack of marketable job skills was the most obvious barrier to sustainable employment for Keniya. However, contributing factors included lack of childcare and an unstable home environment, challenges confronted head-on by Vinaeja Gaskin, Outreach Specialist, and Shandra Womack, Case Manager. Vinaeja referred Keniya to the Department of Social Services,
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Young KRA Customer Continues Journey to Career Success The article, KRA Staff Put the “Work” in Networking, reported on 21-year old, unemployed Iain Tapscott, who in November 2017, enrolled in YouthWorks!, operated by KRA for the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation (AAWDC). Subsequent to required career-development assessments, counseling, and guidance provided by the Career Coaching and Workplace Excellence Teams, Iain remained unwavering in his career objective to become a certified, licensed HVAC Technician…presenting quite a challenge to identify companies willing to hire him, without industry experience or training, except for a few high-school courses. Relentlessly, Team members researched and networked
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For 30 years, the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) has supported workforce-services stakeholders to enhance and maintain their skills through continuing education, networking, and sharing ideas and experiences related to new and innovative programs and services. The KRA-NAWDP partnership is a strong and long-standing one—from providing sponsorship, presentations, and video-production services for Conferences, Forums, and Symposia, to supporting KRA staff while they share their expertise as contributors to and/or members of various Board, Committee, and pilot-program activities.  KRA sponsored 24 corporate- and program-level staff members to attend the recent 2019 Annual Conference, with three senior-level employees facilitating workshops
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On May 1, 2019, the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology Inc. (CCAT) posted a blog, announcing that six more students from the KRA Hartford AJC Knowledge 2 Career (K2C) Academy had graduated CCAT’s Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC) program. The article started with, “Six students apart of the Knowledge 2 Careers Academy Program completed 18-hour hands on training at CCAT’s Advanced Manufacturing Center and graduated the program last week. The Knowledge 2 Careers Program was established by the KRA Corporation through Capital Workforce Partners in partnership with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, Inc. for Tooling U and on the job
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In February, KRA reported on the overall success of the first graduating class of the Construction Academy, operated through YouthWorks! for the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation. Now, we are extremely pleased to report on an individual success story of one of the graduates, Taya Moore. James LeBlanc, Program Manager, reports, “Taya Moore is a 20-year-old OSY participant, who enrolled in the Academy in October 2018. Coming directly from completing a Summer Youth Internship Program with the Finishing Trades Union, she brought more hands-on experience than some of the other students. Right away, it was obvious that Taya was unique,
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