When the opportunity arose for the American Job Center (AJC) in New Britain—one of 37 North Central, CT towns serviced by KRA/Hartford—to join a new multi-organizational collaborative, the initiative was supported readily by the regional WDB, Capitol Workforce Partners, KRA client-partner.
On February 19, 2019, the New Britain Herald * featured CARES (Collaborating Actively for Resident Empowerment and Success) 2020, reporting in part, “The New Britain Housing Authority kicked off a new initiative in collaboration with local organizations to help residents become more self-sufficient in employment, education and mental and physical health.
Joshua Gilmore [KRA Career Agent] and Rebecca Carruthers [KRA Unit Supervisor] were on board at the kickoff meeting”, representing the AJC’s role “to help residents access resources, resume consultation, mentoring, training programs and hiring events.” Moreover, in-house training, a computer-literacy lab, and other services will support customers to obtain career-and/or entrepreneurial-development skills.
Joshua commented, “What excites me most about CARES 2020 is its holistic approach, which recognizes that sustainable career-development is not, usually, a single-track objective. There may be many challenges to conquer and barriers to overcome. It’s like a puzzle, with each organization providing its own critical piece.”
For the ‘employment piece’ of the puzzle, Joshua will support the five AJC customers chosen for the 1-year pilot, developing employment and/or business plans, and providing comprehensive career coaching, workforce-readiness preparation, and scholarship opportunities for certificate programs, complementary to the services referenced in the Herald article .
Joshua concluded, “I have no doubt this program will make a positive impact on the participants’ ability to become financially self-sufficient, and its’ so meaningful for me to be a part of it! “
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