Meeting the Needs of Our New Customers

Overcoming Barriers to Employment

Partner for SuccessFall 2011

The economic downturn beginning in 2008 placed additional pressures on our Employers, Job Seekers and Career Centers alike. Many of our customers have multiple barriers to overcome that still exist today. This presentation details some of the common issues we are seeing and how we are working together to help the job seeker achieve their goal of employment and ultimately, success.

Challenges to our job seeking customers today fall into these categories:

Age Lack of Experience Educational Barriers Criminal History Economic Disadvantaged and Homeless Specific challenges Veterans face Limited English skills Disabilities Long-term unemployment

The Older Worker

Often lack some of the employability skills for today’s workforce, such as familiarity with computers & technology

May expect or require a higher salary, commensurate with their experience

Serving the Older Worker:

Title V, Older Americans Act (Senior Community Service Employment Program)

Adult Education and other education centers provide resources to help improve basic educational skills and computer training

Workforce Investment and other workforce partners assist with training options and referrals to older worker programs

Resume writing and Job search workshops

The Recent Graduate

May have a more difficult time finding employment in today's economy due to lack of work history

Competing upon entry into the workforce with their more experienced counterparts for the same positions

Serving the Recent Graduate: Apprenticeship program Work with local colleges and

Universities to refer the recent graduates to internships, co-ops, work-studies, and other opportunities

Encourage volunteerism in their field and community to build networks and gain experience (Industry Partnerships)

Individuals lacking credentials/ education

Lack of a High School Diploma or GED hinders opportunities

Statistics support those with a bachelor's degree earned more than twice as much as those without a high school diploma or its equivalent

Unemployment is lowest among individuals with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher

Serving those lacking credentials: Referrals to KY Adult Education for GED. Referrals to training partners for skill

upgrade Outreach to High School students

addressing the importance of staying in school, furthering education and soft skills development

Promote career pathways and encourage education and skills development.

Accelerating Opportunity

Individuals with a Criminal History

Customers who have a criminal history face barrier to employment/ This includes misdemeanors and minor violations. Those with felony convictions have an even greater obstacle to overcome.

Serving those with a Criminal History:

Promote the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program as an incentive

Refer to Workforce Investment Re-entry Specialist and Job Counselors

Outreach to partners such as Goodwill Industries and Re-entry Councils that promote opportunities to ex-offenders

Economically Disadvantaged and Homeless

Common Barriers:-Transportation -Stable contact information (housing, phone, email)

-Identification-Interview attire-Lack of child care

Serving the Homeless Population: Work with local homeless shelters to provide job

skills workshops to the residents Knowing the resources in your area and working

with consortiums and partners on grant opportunities to provide additional services

Referrals to other partner agencies to provide assistance such as Workforce Investment, Low Income Heating assistance Program, Department for Community Based Services, KY Housing, Community Action, KY prescription assistance program, Churches, Food Banks, etc

Recently Separated Veterans

Barriers to employment:- Transition to private sector jobs- Lack of jobs available- Mental or physical disabilities attributed to service

Serving the Recently Separated Veteran: Maintaining Priority of Service Train front line staff to know how to identify

as recently separated veteran Understanding the program and availability of

services for the recently separated services and how to access the services

Referrals to appropriate agency Provide self service access and training  for

service (FOCUS CAREER) and job leads Outreach to National Guard Units, Prison and

Homeless shelters Transition Assistance Program

The Long Term Unemployed Those with an employment

gap of greater than 8 weeks face additional challenges

Employers view long term unemployment as a negative factor when consideration for hiring

Depreciation of skills over time

Decreasing motivation/Increasing frustration

Serving the Long Term Unemployed: Training during the gap Workshops to enhance Job seeking skills

(resume/interview/etc) Be “cheerleaders” for our customers –

always encouraging them and offering motivational support

Volunteers opportunities and networking to keep up contacts and skills

Job placement services and resources – help them find the work they need

Limited English Proficiency Individuals who do not speak

English as their primary language and who have a limited ability to read, speak, write, or understand English can be limited English proficient, or "LEP.”

These individuals face significant barriers to employment

Serving the LEP Customer:

Utilize a LEP contact list that identifies all translators and bilingual staff in our agency

Translation/Interpretation services available

Claim filing and UI pamphlets available in Spanish

Individuals with Disabilities or Visual Impairment

These are some of the barriers that we commonly face serving this customer:

Lack of reliable transportation No work experience or poor and sporadic

work history Onset of a disability while employed Perceived inability to obtain a formal

education i.e. GED or high school diploma Employer’s Perception of the disability

Communication barriers:  Hearing impairment, speech impediment or other barrier such as Tourette’s Disorder

Hidden Disabilities:  Consumers coming into the Career Center may have hidden disabilities such as intellectual disabilities, mental illness, diabetes, MS in early stages

Barriers that come when employers are not trained & educated about the Americans With Disabilities Act and also when consumers do not know their rights

Serving Individuals who have Disabilities: Work with customer to encourage partnering with other

employees so that they may carpool if possible Provide services such as biotic driving to individuals who

qualify to help regain their independence in traveling to and from work

Orientation and Mobility training Work assessments to see what barriers cause the

employee to lose jobs. Work toward preventing future occurrence

When disability occurs while on the job: Skills assessment to look at current abilities

Provide assistive devices Intensive job search activities Educate employers on the services we provide and to try

to alleviate fears or apprehensions employers may have in hiring employees that are disabled or visually impaired

Discussion

Is the way we are serving our job seekers effective?

Are there things we can do to enhance and integrate service delivery?

Let’s Talk!

Challenges Employers Face

Inexperienced Workforce Under educated Workforce Generational Differences: Generation X, Y, and

Z the usage of technology and social media Drug usage Criminal History

Addressing the Issues Employers are Facing:

On- the-Job Training programs/ Apprentice-ships

Educational programs (Adult Ed/KCTC) Generational differences training Show customers the perils of drug usage during

orientation classes and other media Provide resources on expungement options and

legal aid assistance Provide up-to-date information about our

programs to the employer (WOTC, etc)

Discussion

Is the way we are serving our employers effective?

Are there things we can do to enhance and integrate business service delivery?

Let’s Talk!