On October 3, 2012, Mary Crean, Hartford Public Library (HPL), and Sandra Rodriguez, Capital Workforce Partners (CWP), issued a joint press release announcing an Open House on October 11th, celebrating the success of the “CTWorks @ HPL” partnership that “Is working …to help Hartford residents find jobs.” CWP, the North Central Connecticut Region’s Workforce Investment Board, and KRA’s client, and the HPL joined forces in July 2012 to open a satellite One-Stop Career Center in downtown Hartford. The announcement stated that in 3 months of activity CTWorks @ HPL “has assisted over 1,000 individuals in their quests for jobs, training and career assistance.”
The community was invited to “Join Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra; Hartford Public Library Chief Executive Officer, Matthew Poland; Capital Workforce Partners President and CEO Thomas Phillips and Board Chair Charles Smith; successful job seekers and others as we celebrate this forward thinking partnership.”
According to Mayor Segarra, “There is no question that Hartford is growing and developing economically. To sustain that growth, we need a workforce that is trained in the skills that are in demand now and will be in the future. Identifying efficiencies, increasing access to combined services and mutual commitments to Hartford residents is what Opportunities Hartford had in mind when it suggested this partnership. I am excited to see its progression.”
Poland stated, “Hartford Public Library is enthusiastic about the momentum to date at the new Career Center and its partnership with Capital Workforce Partners. The new center continues to leverage our existing job search programs and is committed to helping Hartford’s citizens find the jobs they need. For the first time ever, there is a full continuum of employment resources, from literacy classes to recruitment services, all in one place. I am confident this groundbreaking collaboration will result in hundreds of Hartford people getting back to work and starting fulfilling careers.”
Phillips added, “This partnership is getting some attention at the national level. As budgets are narrowing, it is more important now than ever to find existing synergies to build from toward common goals – in this case, helping individuals find jobs and the training they may need for sustainable career futures. Broadened access to these combined services could not have come at a better time, especially for those in the South and West ends of the city. With impending workforce shortages in healthcare, manufacturing and other industry sectors, we need to equip Hartford’s talent pipeline with the skills they need, and what better a place to do that, than at our City’s downtown library.”
It is clear that in such a short span of time, CTWorks @ HPL is successfully broadening access to community jobseekers through a host of in-house services and resources. Two KRA/CTWorks Career Agents, Martha Rolon and Nordia Savage, offer one-on-one services to jobseekers including career counseling/career-plan development, skills assessment, online job-search assistance, resume writing, referral to training opportunities, and job development/placement.
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.
