Our Spotlight! is shining on the San Diego Metro Region American Job Center of California’s Ault/Dislocated Worker (A/DW) Program, operated by KRA Corporation and funded through WIA by the San Diego Workforce Partnership.
Lisa Fuller, Octavia Jones, Stacy Lorkowski, and Zuri Williams have at least three things in common: all were A/DW customers; all have under-graduate degrees and counseling and/or customer-service backgrounds; and all were hired by KRA—three Career Agents and a Front Desk Clerk.
These new KRA hires are the result of a “heads-up” not a “hand-out”. True of all A/DW customers, each participated in WIA-eligibility determination, enrollment and orientation; career assessment and coaching; development of Individual Employment Plans; and work-preparation workshops in resume development, interviewing, job-search techniques, et al.
When it was observed, by their respective Career Agents, that they may be qualified for KRA employment, each was counseled to research, and follow, the protocol for our online application process, which meant competing with other qualified applicants for open positions. Successful in their endeavors, we welcome the newest members of the San Diego family, and asked each to provide a brief statement on the journey that led them to KRA.
Lisa: I enrolled in the Job Center program on the recommendation of a friend, a satisfied KRA customer in the A/DW Program. During my time in the program, I researched KRA to learn more about their mission and operation, and felt KRA was the right career path for me, where I can use my passion and skills to help others.
Stacy: I left my previous job just prior to a huge down-sizing action, and spent several months’ soul-searching and reflecting on past jobs and times I felt most inspired and fulfilled. I realized it was always when I was working directly with people in a helping profession.
Octavia: I considered several positions, and made a decision I felt was the best fit for me as a recent college grad. My last job was as a part-time Student Assistant under a work-study program. I was working with Career Counselors there, but it wasn’t until I came here that I got the most help and was successful.
Zuri: What’s next for me now? The stars, the Moon, maybe a trip to the KRA/DC program during Cherry Blossom time? Who knows? I’m positive it will all be bright! I’m looking forward to helping people in our community; I want to know that I’ve helped quell that ‘terror’ that my own unemployment experience produced in me.
Customer-employee success stories like these are special to KRA, but not unique—occurring frequently in our programs across the country. For example, if Zuri makes that trip to the KRA/DC program, she will meet Ms. DaiJuan Wade, a former TANF Employment Program participant who was hired as an Outreach Specialist, and who recently testified before the DC Council on the service she received as a KRA customer and the success she has found as a KRA employee.
Dr. Boone’s 20+ years’ experience in the industry is extensive and her expertise in private-, public-, and non-profit sector workforce-services organizations is unparalleled, particularly in the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan area.
