EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING FOR HARD TO EMPLOY RESIDENTS IN DISTRESSED COMMUNITIES

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

One of Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone’s top initiatives is to better serve Suffolk’s economically distressed communities. In order to target resources to the most vulnerable communities in the County, Suffolk County Department of Labor, Licensing, and Consumer Affairs (SCDOLLCA) partnered with the Town of Babylon’s Wyandanch Community Resource Center (WCRC) to pilot a community-based satellite program to provide an employment coaching and skills training program in one of the most economically distressed communities in the County. The program began on August 5, 2013 when the SCDOLLCA placed a Labor Technician/Specialist onsite at the Resource Center to help unemployed and underemployed Wyandanch residents with job search strategies, resume writing, and interview techniques. Referrals were also made to contracted vocational training providers. In addition, the SCDOLLCA worked with a significant development project taking place in the community to prepare and connect unemployed residents with barriers to employment into local construction jobs. Thirteen of the sixteen participants are currently employed in the construction trades and another cohort is scheduled to graduate in May. This 81% placement rate far exceeds the rate of similar workforce programs.