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 employment. Lack of childcare, inadequate education, mental- and/or physical-health issues, homelessness, et al…affect whether or not an individual is job-ready. Even with a network as comprehensive as the OSDS, no one entity can meet the workforce-readiness needs of all customers. However, through networking, hundreds of agencies can…if there is shared awareness of each organization’s resources.
Bonita Fahy, KRA/OSCC Director, commented, “Planning for system-wide capacity building through knowledge-based expansion, we organized a Resource Fair for staff—outreaching to CBOs providing Mental Health; Drug, Alcohol, and Other Substance Abuse; Domestic Violence; Homelessness; and Re-Entry Transition services—with 98 agencies responding!
However, considering capacity limitations, we selected 55 organizations to speak about their services to 120 staff members from more than 15 OSDS-agencies. Typical of survey-feedback, one respondent wrote, ‘This was the best event I have attended! The knowledge I received is priceless!.’ Fahy concluded, ”Comments like that have convinced us that another Fair would be welcomed by the staff of our community-resource partners—but not until the OSCC has convened its second Workforce Summit in January 2020!”
