Lisa Linnen, who is 49 and married with no children, had worked for more than 13 years in the lumber business as an operator of a Strapper, a machine that applies bands around stacks of lumber to hold them together.  However, on her last job she was laid off after only 2 months, due to lack of work.  Lisa, who was dreaming of a rather drastic career change, enrolled in the KRA/SCWorks Dislocated Workers Program, and was assigned to Sherell Robinson, KRA Career Agent, for case management and career guidance.  Together, they developed her long-range Individual Employment Plan, exploring and
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On December 5, 2011, Ashley Smith, who is 18 and the single parent of a young son, enrolled in the KRA Employment & Training Program, Baltimore, MD, with what can only be described as an immature and uncooperative attitude.  Ashley made it quite clear that she did not want to be in the program, and no one was going to tell her what to do.  Celeste Simmons, KRA Operations Manager, reported, “Ashley was definitely a ‘mission’ for the KRA team.  In the beginning, nothing we said or did could change her mind.  Her position was ‘I’m here because I have
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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) ongoing High Growth Job Training Initiative engages business, education, and the workforce investment system in developing solutions to the challenges facing high-growth industries. Research continues to show that the Health Care industry, and 13 others, has jobs, with solid career paths, that go unfilled due to a lack of skilled workers.  The DOL/ETA initiative continues to drive KRA to target education and skills-development programs that prepare jobseekers with the skills they need to build successful careers in these growing industries. Not all regions have all 14 industries located within
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Our March Spotlight! shines brightly on 20-year old Nigel Lewis, a participant in the KRA/SCWorks Youth Employability and Success (YES) Program in the Waccamaw Region of South Carolina. Nigel, a high school graduate, came to YES seeking career guidance and employment. Nigel had tried hard to stay employed: he had worked as a Guest Services Representative at a popular hotel-resort; as a Supervisor at Hard Rock Park, a Myrtle Beach rock-‘n’-roll theme park; and as a Customer Service Representative at several other facilities. But, at the beginning of each job, the end was always in sight, as they were all
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“Business Services Consultant Charles Botts joins Elizabeth Sheehan to talk about the CTWorks Jobs Program” reads the text on the ctnow.com website.  For the second year in a row, KRA/CTWorks was featured on the local Fox-affiliate TV station, Fox 61, Hartford, CT.  On March 21, 2012, Charles Botts III, KRA Business Services Consultant, appeared on the news show FOXCT Morning Extra, accompanied by Elizabeth Sheehan, a former KRA/CTWorks jobseeker-customer placed with a local construction company on an OJT contract.  From January 18 through June 5, under the authority of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), the U.S. Department of Labor pays
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The Leadership Edge is a staff training and development program designed to grow, nurture, and encourage KRA’s already successful Program Management team. The first workshop was convened in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 19, 2010, and marked the successful start of a series of quarterly meetings that have been very well received by KRA Program Directors and Managers.  The Leadership Edge focuses on project management best practices, human resources, budgeting and financial tracking, strategic development, and other topics specific to KRA’s continue success as a national leader in the provision of workforce development services. On February 28-29, KRA returned to Baltimore
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Turnstyle Enterprises, KRA business-customer and partner in the Waccamaw Region of South Carolina, is the sole manufacturer of the first and only completely armless gate-opening system, which is eco-friendly with solar-power compatibilities.  The Turnstyle Gate Opening System is described by professionals in the industry as the “cleanest” system on the market.  Knowlton R. Atterbeary, KRA President & CEO, reported, “KRA truly appreciates Turnstyle as a valuable partner in working with our Adult and OSY [Out-of-School Youth] Program participants who face serious barriers to employment. Our collaborative effort is far-reaching; it helps participants remain enrolled in the GED Program, obtain technical
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We’ve reported previously on the successful operation of KRA’s SCWorks Adult Worker Program in the Waccamaw Region, an effective element of which are paid Work Experience Contracts (WEC) that many times lead to fulltime employment, but sometimes do not.  What follows are representative examples of how dedicated KRA Career Agents and Business Services Representatives (BSR) assisted two young women get their lives back on track, using the WEC process.  Vanesha McGill, 26, was new to the Williamsburg County, SC, area when she enrolled with KRA on June 10, 2011.  A young woman with a strong sense of family, Vanesha had relocated from
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Vanessa E. Atterbeary, Esq., KRA Corporate Counsel, has been selected for the Leadership Maryland Class of 2012, its 20th Anniversary Class.  Founded in 1992, Leadership Maryland is an independent, educational, non-profit organization designed to inform top-level executives, from the public and private sectors, about the critical issues, challenges and opportunities facing the state of Maryland and its regions.  Atterbeary is one of only 52 accomplished and talented leaders from across the State selected to participate in the 8-month program.  Following a 2-day opening retreat in April, Atterbeary will attend five 2-day, and one 1-day intense sessions focusing on issues, such
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