Twenty-five KRA staff attended the 2011 National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) Conference in Virginia Beach, Virginia, May 16-19, 2011. Approximately 800 professionals from across the country had gathered to discuss strategies to “Turn the Tide” in our industry despite the great economic challenges we face.
The KRA entourage included a team, from the KRA/CTWorks One-Stop Dislocated Workers Program, that presented a workshop on Power Programs for Placing Professionals. For an SRO-audience of more than 50 attendees, the highly engaging presentation highlighted KRA’s best practices and programs for working with professional Dislocated Workers.
Facilitated by Pamela Nabors, Director of Program Operations, Capital Workforce Partners (CWP), the WIB for the North Central region of Connecticut and KRA’s client; Christina Bartucca, KRA Deputy Director, and Joseph L. Seymour, KRA Re-employment Coach, the presentation covered three creative and effective programs:
The FIRST (Focused, Intensive, Reemployment Success Training) Program, a KRA innovation, addresses the unique employment barriers faced by dislocated professional job seekers. The intensive, customized program is facilitated by Reemployment Coaches who focus on personal career branding, networking, and job search technology. (Including this NAWDP conference, KRA has presented the FIRST Program six times around the country in the last 18 months: 2010 Texas Workforce Commission Forum; 2010 National Association of Workforce BoardsForum; 2010 NAWDP Conference; 2010 National Youth Symposium; and most recently, on May 23, at a Seminar on Worker Dislocation in New England, sponsored by the Workforce Development Research Department at Northeastern University.
The ENCORE!Hartford Program transitions dislocated management professionals from the private sector to leadership roles in the non-profit sector. This program, the result of a collaboration between CWP, KRA/CTWorks, and the UCONN School of Business, features 8 weeks of classroom instruction by non-profit professionals and 8 weeks of a hands-on fellowship, where participants work on projects with local non-profit agencies.
The Advanced Leadership Training Program, the result of a collaboration between CWP, Central Connecticut State University’s Institute of Business Development, and KRA, equips and empowers dislocated professionals to transition into leadership and upper management positions. The program covers five modules: Six Sigma, Project Management, Emotional Intelligence, Lean Enterprise, and 21st Century Leadership. KRA reported that the job placement rate for participants who complete the program is 60 percent, with an average salary of $84,000 a year.
Representing several level s of KRA professional staff, attendees included Program Managers, Team Leads, Career Agents, Re-employment Coaches, and Job Developers. KRA corporate leaders in attendance included Knowlton R. Atterbeary, President & CEO; Patrick Boxall, Vice President & COO; Don Scott, Senior Vice President, Workforce Operations and Vice Chair, NAWDP Board of Directors; and Vanessa Atterbeary, Corporate Counsel.
President/CEO Atterbeary stated, “This event is the most valuable venue for our staff to participate in because of the give-and-take experience it offers. We get to “give” by sharing our programs, which are effective and successful, and we get to “take” away creative and innovative ideas shared by our industry colleagues.”
Senior VP Scott added “As expected, this was a great conference, and KRA is proud to be a sponsor. The dynamic keynote speakers, the diverse professional and personal workshops, and the many opportunities to network with other workforce development professionals is why we support NAWDP year after year.”
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.
