Skill creation, some continued employment noted as federal-funded project moves into fall 2009
For Satin Edmonds, a summer workforce training program has built her skills, improved her confidence level—and led to a new, continuing job.
“With the economic changes of the last year, I had thought I would just be a stay-at-home mom this year. But now I have learned a lot of skills and have a job I can count on. This has been great,” Edmonds said.
Edmonds is a twenty-something Cedar Rapids resident who benefitted from a summer jobs program administered by the Kirkwood Community College Skills-to-Employment office. She was one of nearly 150 participants who earned wages at a variety of non-profit and governmental job sites while building crucial employment skills. The program was the first use of Federal “stimulus” funds from the Department of Labor to respond to unemployment and other economic trends in 2009.
Satin Edmonds served at the Jane Boyd Community House during her summer jobs training, and is now employed continually at the community center. Jessica Carey is the business and administrative coordinator at Jane Boyd and calls the summer project a “great experience” for all concerned.
“We were pleasantly surprised with Satin’s enthusiasm, skill level and willingness to learn more. Her initial duties of answering phones and other clerical tasks were quickly upgraded to be a more challenging learning position. She has taken on extended roles and became a resource not just for administration but for some programming heads, too,” Carey added.
Kirkwood Skills-to-Employment Director Carla Andorf administrated the Summer Jobs Program and saw several promising events and opportunities grow from it.
“We were able to place nearly 150 participants in work roles at 58 sites in our seven-county area. There were many different job roles and skill sets developed, ranging from child care, food preparation and building maintenance to computer technician and clerical job duties. We hope many of these participants take the opportunities introduced to them and build on it with more education and skills development,” Andorf observed.
The majority of the worksites were in Linn and Johnson counties, but schools and non-profit sites in all seven counties were included. Main sites included school districts, city and county governmental offices and a community recycling center.
The federal program was open to students and young adults ages 14 to 24 who meet certain criteria. In a post-project survey, nearly three-fourths of the participants (72 percent) said they would seriously consider additional training and education to develop more work skills following the program. Nearly all agreed that the summer program helped them gain skills needed to obtain and keep a job (89 percent).
Another Kirkwood Summer Jobs Program participant that found opportunity with the work placement is Angie Miller. The Cedar Rapids resident accepted an educational assistant role with Four Oaks. Miller worked at the Four Oaks Bridge site on First Avenue in Cedar Rapids for the summer, assisting in after-school enrichment programs for young people in the nearby neighborhoods. Four Oaks officials were impressed with Miller’s talents and initiative and have hired her for continuing work at the Bridge site into the future.
“This is only the second job I’ve ever had and I got a lot of great experience working with kids from kindergarten to sixth grade levels. I love what I do there!” Miller said.
And for some, the opened doors presented by the Summer Jobs Program have been more than just employment. Satin Edmonds found out about a scholarship opportunity through an online educational company while she worked her summer job placement at Jane Boyd Community House.
“I filled out the application and figured it wouldn’t hurt. But I never imagined they would accept me. Now I find out they have given me a full scholarship for a two-year degree and will also support me for a four-year degree if I choose, she said.
Jane Boyd has set up a work schedule for Edmonds that will allow her to work in the center office for the morning, then devote her afternoons to online courses and study.
“This is just amazing! This program just totally opened my eyes to what I can do. I’m so grateful for the opportunity,” she added.