Photo by Marilina Sanz
Participants in Hennepin County's successful Destination Jobs Program sort
laundry at the Radisson Hotel in Bloomington, Minn. NACo President Michael
Hightower and President-elect Randy Johnson toured the facility prior to
the start of NACo's second public hearing on welfare reform, held earlier
this month in Hennepin County, Minn.
Prior to the kick off of NACo's second welfare reform hearing hosted by the Association of Minnesota Counties, NACo President Michael Hightower and President-elect Randy Johnson visited the Radisson South in Bloomington, Minn., one of the sites for Hennepin County's successful Destination Jobs Program.
Destination Jobs is a four-year-old "reverse commute" employment program that connects urban workers with suburban employers.
Radisson South provides transportation and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes to 14 employees who participate in the reverse commute program.
"With vacancies at the hotel, we needed to think out of the box ... the Destination Jobs program has helped us do that and has proven so successful for us that we are hoping to triple the number of employees in the program," said Michael Brunkow, Radisson South general manager, at a press conference held at the hotel.
(To find out more about the Destination Jobs Program in Hennepin County,
contact Bill Brumfield, director, Training and Employment Assistance, 300
S. Sixth St., Minneapolis, MN 55487-0012; phone: 320/348-5203; e-mail: Bill.Brumfield@co.hennepin.mn.us.)