Since September 2024, KRA has operated the Los Angeles County Rancho Dominguez American Job Center of California (AJCC) and County-designated Center of Excellence (CoE) for justice-involved individuals—offering no-cost Career Services, i.e., one-on-one counseling and guidance, educational opportunities, and job-skills development, preparation, and placement—for WIOA-eligible Adult, Dislocated, and Youth jobseekers.
JaVette Pettaway, Program Director, observes, “A key factor in the success of KRA’s approach is that our Career Services’ staff and Outreach Specialists work as a team to continually engage and strengthen business- and community-partnerships as vital sources for On-the-Job Training and Occupational Skills Development (OSD), and employment opportunities for our jobseeker-customers.
“Our Career Services’ outreach activities include inviting businesses and other community partners and stakeholders to weekly events via social media; one-on-one meetings; participation in local and County events; and attendance at AJCC/CoE program-partnership and committee meetings, Job Fairs, and other relevant activities to connect jobseekers with training and employment.
“One valuable OSD resource is the High Road Training Partnerships (HRTP) Program—a model industry-based initiative created to generate family-supporting pathways to quality employment in high-growth sectors e.g. Aerospace, Construction, Healthcare, and Transportation across the County for our most vulnerable residents, including low-wage earners, opportunity youth, and others who face systemic barriers to employment.
“KRA/Rancho Dominquez has developed an extremely productive partnership with Prestige Career College, one of 19 HRTP grantees, with whom we enroll participants on a regular basis for Nurse Assistant and Medical Assistant programs, often 5-8 participants per cohort, which lasts on average about 6 weeks. We currently have 15 customers participating, with five as part of the HRTP program.
“Through these and other outreach efforts, we simultaneously provide our jobseeker- and employer-customers with up-to-date information about available training, supportive services, and vital community resources, ensuring awareness of the full range of AJCC and CoE services and opportunities that support achieving common employment and career goals.
The success of KRA/Rancho Dominguez is rooted in partnership between jobseekers, employers, community organizations, and the County. By uniting these stakeholders around shared goals, we are helping build a more inclusive workforce system where every resident has a real pathway to quality employment and a more secure future.”