Submitted by Kathy Norris
April 1, 2011 - June 30, 2011
306 First Street, Loyalton, CA 96118
(530) 993-4295
www.aworkforce.org
One-stop Name and Logo Change
Alliance
for Workforce Development, Inc. (AFWD) announces a name change for its local
One-Stop Center in Sierra County. The Sierra Work Connection is now called
the Business and Career Network, effective June 1, 2011.
AFWD operates One-Stop Centers located in Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, and Sierra counties. Currently these are called the Modoc Employment Center, Lassen Career Network, Plumas Work Connection, and Sierra Work Connection. All four locations are being renamed, Business and Career Networks.
“Besides allowing for consistency across the counties, this new name more accurately reflects AFWD’s “Business First” philosophy which promotes the strengthening of businesses in our communities in order to provide employment for job seekers,” stated AFWD’s Executive Director, Traci Holt.
She also added that, “The name Business and Career Network also highlights the strong network of One-Stop and community partner agencies that provide services within each county and through the One-Stops.” Partners in Sierra County include, Sierra County Human Services, CA Employment Development Department (EDD), Plumas Rural Services, and many other organizations throughout Sierra County.
The One-Stop mission is to serve as a common point of access for job seekers, employers and community members for the purposes of education, training, employment, referral and support services.
These Business and Career Networks will continue to provide a single address where partnering agencies, each with their own identity and mission, will provide core services focused on meeting the needs of businesses, job seekers, and community members alike.
In this regard, the One-Stops are similar to a shopping mall; i.e. the “mall” provides a facility for organizations to gather together to meet the needs of customers, and customers benefit from a single location to do their “shopping.”
Working with its partners, AFWD is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life throughout its communities by assisting businesses, organizations, job seekers, and community members with their pathways to success.
Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc. (AFWD) is a private not-for-profit organization providing workforce development solutions in Northeastern California for over 24 years. For more information on AFWD and its One-Stop Centers please visit, www.aworkforce.org.
On
May 11th and 12th One stops from 11 counties came together to learn, share
and collaborate with each other to better serve the businesses, job seekers
and communities in which they reside. The Northern Rural Training &
Employment Consortium (NoRTEC), which provides grant funding from the
Federal and State governments to One-Stops in Northern California, hosted
the event at the Gaia Hotel in Anderson CA for 11 One-Stops from the following
counties: Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Sierra, Butte, Del Norte, Nevada, Shasta,
Tehama, Siskiyou & Trinity. In all, over 75 people from the 11 counties
attended the workshop. Stewart Knox, Director of NoRTEC started with introducing
the staff from NoRTEC and gave information on NoRTEC’s purpose and
function. Staff from NoRTEC provided information and direction on the
various grants available that allow the One-Stops to serve their business
and job seeker customers. Representatives from 4 of the One-Stops presented
information on some of the projects and the programs they provide to business
and job seekers in their communities. On the second day of the workshop
round table discussions were held to discuss the many different services
available to business, job seekers and communities and to come up with
more ideas and find ways to implement these services. Ideas were categorized
by the type of service such as Economic Development, Job seeker workshops
and services, youth programs and community services. Many ideas and stories
were shared and staff from the 11 counties discussed how another One-Stop
might be able to implement similar services and how to help stimulate
the local and regional economies. By the time the 
workshop
was over a plan was in place to have a person from each of the 11 One-Stops
appointed the projects leader. One-Stop project leaders will continue
to work together to share ideas, gain knowledge from one another and assist
each other to continue to implement ideas and services that will enable
businesses to start up, expand and employ more job seekers, to assist
job seekers with employment needs and to help our communities prosper.
Above, Right image: Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc.'s attending staff
Above, Left image: From Left to Right:
Jennifer Johnson, Joy Penn and Kathy Norris.
Sierra County One-Stop Presents Update to County Board of Supervisors
On
April 19th, 2011, Kathy Norris, Resource Coordinator for the local
one stop presented the bi-annual update
of county services to the Sierra County Board of Supervisors. The
position paper went over jobseeker services, business services and
special projects that the staff at the one-stop center has completed.
AFWD Brings Back Small Business Training
The Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc. (AFWD)
brought a series of three workshops to Sierra County to help entrepreneurs
and small business operators. The three workshops are designed to
reinforce each other in covering topics central to starting or operating
a small business. The topics for the three workshops were selected
by polling the nearly one hundred “trainees” who participated
in the highly successful and informative Business Boot Camps conducted
by the Sierra Economic 
Development
Corporation (SEDCorp) in 2009. AFWD brought back SEDCorp to conduct
the new workshop series. A full seven-hour day was devoted to each
workshop subject. Each day included instruction, practical exercises
and direct feedback on the applicability of the course material to
the students’ own businesses.
The
first of the three workshops addressed Marketing Plan Development.
It revisited the elements of the analyses that determine the feasibility
of any business idea – the business’ purpose, mission,
core values and limitations, its financial feasibility and the analysis
of the market – and used those elements to identify the features
and benefits of the goods or services being offered. Those features
and benefits were woven into a Unique Sales Proposition (USP) that
was the core of the marketing plan, included in the owner’s
“elevator pitch” and all of its marketing efforts. The
workshop looked at the concept of branding and how a consistent message
must be maintained throughout the company’s branding efforts.
The workshop examined the wide array of media available for marketing
and helped the students in evaluating the suitability of each means
to getting out their message. All of this was pulled together into
a Marketing Plan that covered the deployment of resources over a scheduled
period for the purpose of making the business’ goods or services
known to its intended customer base. (Photo
Above is Panda Morgan from SBDC with Students)
The second of the three workshops addressed Business Planning
and Financial Analysis. Knowing that the development of a
comprehensive and usable business plan is one of the greatest obstacles
to starting a business, this workshop worked its way through a business
plan template in a logical and self-supportive fashion. It started
with the documentation of the important assumptions needed to make
projections about the expected success and growth of the new company,
its sales, expenses and cash flow, and then proceeded to those financial
analyses. The instruction covered the non-quantitative elements of
the business plan including the descriptions of the results of the
students’ market analyses, the management of their companies,
their operations, their marketing strategies, and the future products
and services on their growth horizons. Each part of the instruction
was be supported with templates that the students can tailor to the
specifics of their own business. As for the first workshop, instruction
was coupled with practical exercises to reinforce the information
being taught, and the students were be able to discuss the instruction
materials with the instructors in the context of their own business
circumstances. That part of the business plan that addressed marketing
called on the progress made in the first workshop for content. Reinforcing
the maxim that money follows good ideas, the instruction concluded
with a discussion of at least twenty different sources of potential
business funding and the appropriateness of each to the needs of each
business owner or entrepreneur. (Photo
Above is Brent Smith from SEDCorp with teaching class)
The
final workshop addressed one of the imperatives of modern business,
Internet Marketing. The instruction developed the
concept of Search Engine Marketing (SEM), integrating Search Engine
Optimization (SEO) into the process of web site design using the search
engines’ own tools. The instruction showed how to use those
search engine tools to also research the competitors in the market
and incorporate the results into an on-line marketing blueprint. Students
walked through the process of link-building to increase the strength
of their sites. The instruction clarified a whole new lexicon of terms
in the Internet marketing language that are important to Internet
marketing success. It also covered a plethora of Internet sites and
services that can be a boon or a disaster for a business’ web
presence. The instruction specifically addressed social media marketing
as a compliment to or the primary means of having a web presence.
As for the first two workshops, there were numerous practical exercises
and continuous opportunities to apply the instruction to the context
of the students’ own businesses. The Internet Marketing Plan
was related to the results of both of the preceding workshops for
consistency and content and taught by well known website developer,
Coryon Redd from Batteries4Less in Grass Valley, CA. This was a highly
successful class with 19 people that attended. Expect to see more
Sierra County businesses online soon!
(Photo
Above is Coryon Redd from Batteries4Less Teaching the class)
KJL
Fasteners was started a little over five years ago, at the request
of Lockheed Martin’s Houston facility. They were in need of
an SBA Certified HUBZone vendor; however they needed that vendor
to understand the complexities of supplying “manned space
flight” hardware and the critical lead times needed to support
launch windows. The founder of KJL Fasteners (Ray Lock) was a current
flight fastener consultant to them and the NASA JSC facility they
were managing. Ray is one of the original founders of Special-T
Fasteners (currently Alcoa Fastening Systems in Simi Valley, Ca).
His 30 plus years in the aerospace fastener industry encompassed
design, manufacturing and distribution. In addition, the staff assembled
at KJL is one of the most knowledgeable in the fastener industry.
KJL’s current customers include: Lockheed Martin Missiles
& Space, Aerojet General, Orbital 
Sciences,
Northrop Grumman, ATK Space Systems, Boeing Satellite, Jacobs Sverdrup
and contracts for both NASA JSC and NASA Langley.
KJL Fasteners of Loyalton, CA can supply super alloy bolts in 160
KSI to 260 KSI on short lead times (10-12 weeks normal with expedited
deliveries available). They have a manufacturing partner, A &
A Machine that builds custom and unavailable standard hardware for
them that helps them stay the leader in the industry. They are currently
building bolts for Atlas V, AMS (Alpha magnetic spectrometer) Crew
Quarters for the space 
station,
TZM screws for Hi Fly cruise missile, 6al4v titanium socket screws
for Boeing Satellite, etc.
Last month the Sierra Business and Career Network placed an On the
Job Training employee with this HUB Zone business. Robin Dearman,
of Loyalton, CA is currently learning the business through an opportunity
with the National Emergency Grant On the Job Training Program (NEG/OJT).
Robin’s title is Sales Support and Customer Service, but don’t
let the job title fool you, working for a company that supplies
NASA and their suppliers is no walk in the park. She is learning
Aerospace from the ground up.
Submitted by: Kathy Norris
Building Analyst Graduate in Sierra County!
With
funding provided through a special grant and the support of Alliance
For Workforce Development Inc. (AFWD), participants from Sierra
County were able to receive specialized training in several areas
of “Green” construction and energy occupations. This
training builds upon the participants existing skills in the construction
trades and prepares them for the changes in the industry as it moves
to a more energy efficient and environmentally friendly industry.
The Clean Energy Workforce Training Program grant that paid for
tuition, lodging and other necessary expenses enabled the participants
of AFWD to receive training in the NCCER Core Foundation Course
and the Certified Green Building Professional Course. After these
two pre-requisite courses were completed the participants were able
to choose one of the following specialized courses: Home Energy
Measures and Rater, Building Analyst and Solar Photovoltaic Installation.
Sierra County long time resident, business and ranch owner, Bob Macey from Range of Light Construction participated in the Building Analyst program. The Building Analyst students received training in whole house energy efficiency and building performance testing, evaluation and contracting with home owners for upgrading existing homes to improve comfort, safety, health, durability and energy efficiency. All participating students were able to get a taste of Sierra County, as Mr. Macey offered his rental house that he built in Sierra Brooks as a test site. At the end of that long day in Sierra Brooks, Mr. Macey recieved his Building Analyst certificate.
The
participants attended Shasta Builders Exchange in Redding who provided
the training which ran 1 ½ to 2 months long. Upon completion
of the courses the participants received Certificates of Completion
in each course and are in the process of taking the state exams
to be state certified in their specialty area. The participants
felt this training was very valuable and will make them more employable
and could not have afforded this valuable training on their own.
Congratulations to all the participants! And Congratulations to Mr. Macey, Sierra County's own Building Analyst and entrepreneur.
Pictured above: Mr. Bob Macey from Range of Light
Construction in front of his rental home in Sierra Brooks.
15th Annual Graeagle Job Fair 2011
Sierra
and Plumas County employers and jobseekers turned out for this year’s
Graeagle based AFWD Job Fair! The 15th Annual Job Fair attendance
by businesses seeking employees was 14. Held in the Graeagle Fire
Hall, jobseekers streamed through the door with new AFWD assisted
resumes in hand to apply to local businesses in search of that
perfect employee. There were 150 job seeking individuals this year,
giving the businesses ample opportunity to fill needed positions.
We
are hoping to hear in the upcoming weeks that our local jobseekers
are finding employment thanks to the efforts of AFWD staff.
Submitted by: Jennifer Johnson
Pictured above Left: "Steve" one of Sierra Business and Career Network's happy clients
Pictured above Right: Sierra and Plumas County Sheriff's Departments were represented
URS Job Rectruitment Success!!
Lassen
County Business and Career Network hosted an onsite job recruitment
in Susanville for URS Corporation in May. Sierra County staff were busy
the days prior to the event contacting clients, getting resumes spruced
up and online applications completed. Several Sierra clients made the
trip to Susanville for the onsite hiring by URS. Three of our clients
were successfully hired as Material Handlers by the large private firm
that operates on the Herlong Army Depot base. Two of the three clients
are pictured here: Michael Belli and Roger Rivea. Our third success,
Kory Gibson was unavailable for a picture as he was busy making arrangements
to set up a travel trailer close to the base. Michael is a long time
Loyalton resident that returned to the area several months back from
Sacramento. Roger, also a long time resident, had been laid off more
than six months prior due to the closure of the Sierra Pacific Co-Gen
plant in Loyalton. Kory is an active member of the Army National Guard.
All three have been diligently looking and applying for jobs in the
surrounding area. The jobs were the result of perseverance on the part
of the clients and the encouragement, support and services provided
by the Sierra County staff.
Submitted by: Jennifer Johnson
Local
Youths Complete Major Milestones!
Two of our local youths completed major milestones in their lives. Steven Frazier came to us as an out of school youth wanting to obtain his GED. He successfully completed the workshops and tested high on the ABLE test. He then ran into barriers in trying to get to Reno to take his GED exam. After several re-schedules, he successfully completed his test in April and received his GED. We are now helping Steven in finding meaningful employment.
Codie
Sims was our successful in school youth. He successfully completed the
Basic Life Skills workshop. Then with continued support and encouragement
from family, friends and the Sierra One Stop staff he received his High
School Diploma on June 10th. Codie is considering post-secondary schooling,
but first priority is money for living on his own and saving for school.
The Sierra Staff helped him compile an eye catching resume and instructed
him in online job searching. He has since moved to the big city of Reno,
NV and is continuing his job search.
Submitted by: Jennifer Johnson
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 13th: Interview Workshop "How to Blow an Interview in Five Seconds" @ 1:30pm
August 3rd: Resume Building Workshop @ 1:30pm
