Alliance
for Workforce Development. Inc. Charts
New Direction for 2007-2008
Alliance
for Workforce Development, Inc. (AFWD) has started 2007-2008
with a renewed emphasis on the business first philosophy, as embraced
by
the Northern California Rural Training and Employment Consortium,
NoRTEC.
The business first approach places the highest priority on serving
the
human resource needs of small businesses. As more business customers
are pleased with the services received from the One-Stops, including
recruiting assistance, the more job orders they bring to the One-Stops.
And more job orders bring in more job seekers, which increase the
applicant pool available to employers. It’s a win, win situation
for small
business and job seekers. Our motto is, “Serving businesses
to serve
job seekers.”
Alliance
for Workforce Development, Inc.’s new Executive Director,
Ms. Traci L. Holt, is very committed to the business first philosophy,
and along with the AFWD Board of Directors, has worked diligently
to
reorganize the operations of the company to implement procedures that
meet the needs of businesses. AFWD offers its services in four counties
including Lassen, Plumas, Sierra, and Modoc, an area covering over
13,000 sq miles. AFWD truly believes that the business (employer)
is
the primary customer in the workforce development system.
NoRTEC
has been extremely supportive of AFWD efforts, facilitating
training to all staff with the goal of increasing the client base,
and matching
job seekers to employers, resulting in successful workforce development.
The
results so far have been very impressive. More employers are utilizing
AFWD’s human resource services and the requests for job order
posting
and customized recruitments are growing each week. Customized
recruitments range from accepting applications for the employer,
to pre screening, interviewing, and reference checking. In addition,
the numbers of job seekers coming to the One-Stops continues to grow.
Currently AFWD has an applicant pool of close to 300 job seekers
looking for work. That’s the kind of pool that employers are
eager to tap.
The bottom line is that people are obtaining satisfying jobs in the
communities in which they live, and our businesses are getting the
employees they are looking for.
.
Small group breakout session from The Art of Delegating
PLUMAS BANK
TRAINING
By Laurie Wann
In an on-going partnership with Plumas
Bank we developed and presented
two customized training sessions: Essentials of Communication in July
and
The Art of Delegating in September. Prior to each workshop our
Training Coordinator met with representatives from Plumas Bank to
determine their desired goals and objectives. The curriculum for each
section was then customized to incorporate scenarios
and issues
specific to Plumas Bank. Approximately 25 employees attended each
4 hour training session.
“AFWD plays an instrumental
role in the on-going development of our
managers. The quality of the training is always excellent,and they
do a
wonderful job tailoring the training to meet our objectives. They
provide a valuable and cost-effective resource for our area which
I would recommend to all employers.”
~ Angela Pehrson, Plumas Bank
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Success Story
of the Month!
Mr.
Wendell Fellows had just moved to Plumas County from Texas with no
money and was staying with a friend until he got on his feet. He came
into our office hoping that we would be able to assist him with finding
a
Truck Driving job. Mr. Fellows ran up against some licensing difficulties
with
the DMV. AFWD assist him with job search activities and referrals.
But
Mr. Fellows did not give up! He interviewed for Sierra
Pacific Industries
where he was able to obtain a truck driving position. Sierra Pacific
Industries
allowed Mr. Fellows to wash trucks until his license came through
so he
was able to start work right away. Once again we were able to assist
Mr. Fellows in purchasing work boots required for his new position.
He is now working full time as a Truck Driver at the Mill in Quincy.
Even
with everything that he had to go through he was able to maintain
a
positive attitude and was very thankful for the help that we were
able to provide.
Temporary Job Creation
National Emergency Grant Update
by Kathy McKee
This quarter our spotlight
is on Nicole Benton. She has been working on storm clean
up dutieson Highway 36 near Chester,CA. She began what she thought
was a
typical day of work on July 24, 2007. Nicole was working traffic control
on
Highway 36. She had two cars stopped, when a third car approached
at
high speed. The first car in the line and Nicole were able to move
off the road.
The approaching car hit the second non-moving car and moved it 80
feet.
Once Nicole was safe on the shoulder, she immediately and calmly called
the accident into Caltrans and CHP. As the driver and passenger of
the third car
were exiting the car, the engine burst into flames! Once again in
the midst of all the
panic, Nicole calmly called in the car fire to 911. Fortunately no
one was injured.
As Nicole finished her day of
work, her coworkers and everyone involved called
her a hero. But she knew that it was just another typical day on the
road. The
Caltrans maintenance workers know that danger is a part of everyday
on the
road, watching out for motorists, rock slides, adverse weather and
road
conditions. Next time you stop for Caltrans work, give the workers
a
wave and a thank you.
Kudos to Nicole for a
Job Well Done
New to Plumas Work Connection!
By Tracie Nolan
Tracie Nolan, Hyun Kim, Zenda Beali, Lia Bauer &
Marilyn Brodie(seated)
Customers
walking into the Work Connection are sure to see many new faces.
Along with the new faces has come new enthusiasm. Everyone is excited
about the new changes taking place and are all working hard to make
things happen.
At the front desk, Lia Bauer and Zenda
Beail have joined the AFWD Team.
Both have exceptional customer service skills and have jumped right
in learning
all the aspects of our office. They are both very supportive and willing
to
help out when and where they are needed. Lia is working for the Work
Connection
through the Work Study program at Feather
River College. We
are thankful
that they have joined our Team.
We also have 3 new Career
Center Advisors: Tracie Nolan, Hyun Kim (a.k.a. Chris)
and Marilyn Brodie. Tracie has been with AFWD for over 6 years, working
as
our Front Line Receptionist. Working with customers on a new level
has been
very rewarding for Tracie. Hyun has been with AFWD since May 2007.
Like Tracie
he also moved from receptionist to Career Center Advisor. Marilyn
is new to AFWD and
brings with her an exceptional background in public service and Human
Resources.
AFWD welcomes you all!
Youth Program Update
By Athea Stephenson
This
year the Alliance for Workforce Development Inc., has an exciting
new
Youth Program Design which allows youth to be self-directed based
on their own career development need. So whether the need is remediation,
a job, career guidance, placement into college, learning how to get
on their feet
as a young adult, and/or basic skill training to advanced computer
skill training,
AFWD has made the commitment to empower youth to choose the service
path that is most fitting. The four paths are Education, Job
Acquisition,
Easy in Easy Out, and the Techy Path.
The components of the four paths can be mixed and matched, with the
ultimate goal of the youth entering employment, education, or the
military,
and ensuring
retention through follow-up services.
For more information on the Youth Program Design
contact Athea.
Team
Member Earns SHRM Certificate
Athea
Stephenson , Youth Program Manager, recently received a
certificate of completion for Essentials of Human Resource Management
by the Society for Human Resource Management
and the
Northern California Human Resources Association. The seminar took
place in Dublin, CA July 18th and 19th. During which time she received
training on key HR roles and responsibilities and different HR efforts.
The course also covered employment law in the workplace, ensuring
legal compliance throughout the organization, effective recruitment
and
selection techniques, basics of compensation, orienting and training
employees to ensure a good start with effective employee orientation,
and ensuring quality performance.
