In recognition of American Job Fair Month, as well as KRA’s own Job Fairs in June campaign, the Norfolk VIEW (Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare) Program pulled out all the stops, scheduling a major event each week for jobseeker-customers enrolled in the VIEW Job Readiness Academy (JRA).
June 6: Michael Johnson is the Office Supervisor of four Liberty Tax Services offices in the Hampton Roads area, as well as a motivational speaker and philanthropist. His main message for the JRA participants focused on “success.” Using his own life and workplace experiences, he spoke about how he achieved success through hard work and perseverance. Starting as a Seasonal Tax Preparer just 3 years ago, within the next 6 months, he will own two Liberty Tax Services franchises. Johnson shared with the jobseekers why first impressions are so important; had them participate in a fun, but revealing, personality assessment; and provided them with career information related to the tax preparation industry.
June 13: Hospitality Staffing Solutions, a KRA business-customer that hires for the Five-Star hotels and resorts in the area, visited VIEW to engage JRA participants in a mini job fair, with jobseekers filling out applications and participating in interviews. Incredibly, this one event resulted in 15 customers being hired for fulltime, permanent positions at 10 percent more than the minimum wage for the area. This is a particularly significant achievement in an industry that generally relies on seasonal workers.
June 21: A larger job fair attracted the Virginia Employment Commission and 11 other employers representing the Customer Service, Industrial, Medical, Professional, and Retail industries. Six “vendor” participants represented mental health counseling facilities and institutions of higher learning.
June 26-28…To cap off the June events, KRA Norfolk hosted a Finding Purpose Seminar for 22 ex-offender customers, during which experts shared information on Juvenile Probation and Parole, Clemency, Expungement, Federal Bonding, and Higher Education. Staff received very positive feedback from the participants, as expressed by Trikita Ashby, KRA VIEW participant, who summed it up with “ The seminar was very helpful to the ex-offenders who attended. We received great information to help us take the next step in life.”
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.
