American Job Center Partner Newsletter

A Letter to Our Partners

Greetings Partners,

We have had a great start by way of mobilizing to making wholistic approaches to service Prince George’s County. Our creativity used in strategizing innovative ways to promote resources, supply training, and assist with gaining employment make a powerful impact on the lives of the county residents.

The effort and commitment that we put in and stand by will continue to produce skilled workers, adding to our valued workforce development.

Your partnership is a crucial piece to the puzzle which builds opportunity for everyone in search of employment, higher education, and career success.

Keep up the great work!

Please continue to share updates, upcoming workshops, scheduled events, and planned activities, please submit by the 12^th of the month to manderson@eckerd.org.

Thank you for your partnership, service, and provision to provide businesses with skilled workers and the job seeker with an avenue for upward mobility.

Sincerely,

Angela Smith

One Stop Manager

MARCH IS WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH !

Let's Celebrate Women's History!

Women have been the pillars of progress throughout our history, breaking barriers, uplifting their peers and fighting for equality, all while having a family of their own to care for. Their perseverance, strength and determination led to the creation of countless opportunities for the women to come. There are so many women to honor, reflect on and learn from, such as Sojourner Truth, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Maya Angelou, Eleanor Roosevelt and Oprah Winfrey to name a few. I hope during this Women's History Month, you take the time to research a few important women in American History. We can all stand to learn more from these women and strive to be just as influential, if only within our career field.

"For their is always light, If only we're brave enough to see it. If only, we're brave enough to be it" - Amanda Gorman, 2021

The Prince George's County Memorial Library System has "Women's History" inspired events all month long. Click Here! to see the list. You might see an event you're interested in !

Our MARCH Professional Development Speaker Is...

Marcal Graham, Ed.D., M.A., GCDF

Dr. Graham's topic

will be:

Reclaim Your Life and Career: I Would Rather

Die Dancing than

Sitting at My Desk.

(The Great Awakening)

Make sure to remind

your staff!!

He will be speaking virtually on 3/25 from 2pm - 3pm!!

Click here to join the zoom!

Dr. Graham spent much of his youth growing up in North Philadelphia and earned his Bachelors Degree from La Salle University and both his Masters Degree and Doctoral Degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Marcal Graham has been the Director of the University of Maryland Educational Opportunity Center (UM-EOC) for a decade. Dr. Graham brings over 20 years of experience in the field of Educational Leadership and Administration. He has dedicated much of his life to helping students and adults overcome academic and professional barriers. Dr. Graham has also partnered with several non-profit and community-based organizations in the District of Columbia.

Prior to joining the University of Maryland, Dr. Graham worked with several K-12 charter schools in the District of Columbia and focused primarily on data analysis, assessment, and leadership. In addition, Dr. Graham worked as an analyst in the Accountability Department for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in Charlotte, North Carolina where he trained teachers, principals, and area superintendents on how to analyze and evaluate data at the classroom, school, and district level. He also had the opportunity to become a Strategic Data Fellow at Harvard University for a year while working with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.

Dr. Graham has self-published three (3) books around the concept of self-empowerment and has developed his own mindset theory model (MOVEME). He is currently working on his fourth book, entitled Reclaim Your Career and Life: I Would Rather Die Dancing than Sitting at My Desk.

$20 Dollars to have HOPE!

Below is a story about perception and how one teacher tested the power of positivity.

This story came from our February Professional Development speaker, Curtis Campogni. I hope you read it and become inspired to look at each day in a more positive light.

A teacher had two students in his class that were polar opposites. One was overly optimistic, and the other routinely displayed a negative attitude. Before class one day the instructor placed $20 near the entrance with half of the bill covered by a potted plant. The student who viewed the world with skepticism entered and exited the class without noticing the money. The student who searched for the good in every situation spotted the money immediately.

The teacher performed this activity every year and found that students who placed an emphasis on faith, internal control and cheer searched for signs and experiences that confirmed these values. They believed that no matter how difficult life got, they had the strength and confidence to see the good, beauty, and kindness in the world.

Every person is fighting a battle that you can't see. There is no doubt, you are fighting one as well. In the end, you will overcome those challenges and what you discover will be far more valuable than $20. You got this.

TALC Program still recruiting for Stand Up and Deliver Program

The Transportation and Logistics Consortium Program is still actively searching for P.G. County resident recruits for their new Stand up and Deliver Program.

They are looking for Warehouse Workers and Warehouse leads. The Warehouse Workers salary is $15/per hour and the Warehouse Lead salary is $20/per hour. They will work approximately 35 hours a week for 6 months.

The preference is returning citizens or 18-24 year olds who are unemployed and not in school.

They are also looking for recruits for the following Programs:

EPIC - IT Program

CAHA - Healthcare Program

CWE - Construction Program

PSI - Professional Services Program

If you have any referrals, please have them call 301-618-8445.

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

We are shining our Partner Spotlight on MD Department of Veterans Affairs or our JVSG Partner this month.

Thank you so much for all you do to ensure our Veterans and their spouses have access to all the employment assistance and services we have to offer. Your program is needed and we appreciate you ! Thanks so much Todd, for your JVSG training, it was extremely helpful !

Maryland is committed to providing comprehensive employment services to Veterans at our American Job Centers. Veterans and eligible spouses married to a veteran with (or whose death was caused by) a military service-connected disability is given a Priority of Service (POS). POS means that once identified at the point of entry, veterans as well as their eligible spouses, will be served at our local Job Centers.

You may take full advantage of POS if job seekers have served at least one (1) day in active military service with an Honorable Discharge. Each of the Job Centers is staffed with onsite Veterans Representatives dedicated to helping you navigate the employment, training, and job placement processes. Access to the full range of employment services includes the following:

· Career Counseling

· Job Search Assistance

· Job Referral and Matching Resumé Help J

· Workshops

· Referral to Additional Supportive Services

Additionally, as a Veteran (or eligible spouse of a Veteran), available services/resources may include the following:

· Maryland’s Commitment to Veterans (MC V)

· Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC)

· Maryland Mortgage Program/ Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)

· Warriors to Work

· Helmets to Hardhats

· Troops to Energy Jobs

· Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)

· MilitaryPersonnelandService-DisabledVeteransNo-InterestLoanProgram/Departmentoflabor

Staffing Information – The JVSG Program employs DVOP’s who are dedicated staff that provide individualized career and training-related services to veterans and eligible persons with significant barriers to employment and to assist employers in filling the workforce needs of job-seeking veterans within their respective regions

CONTACT INFORMATION

The Maryland Department of Labor Veterans Affairs is available by phone Monday thru Friday 8am to 4:30pm at 410-260-3838

NEW Spring Classes at

Prince George's Community College!

Prince George's Community College has ESL, Career Exploration and

Certification classes starting this Spring.

Please see the links below and refer anyone who might be interested !

ESL Spring Classes

Career Pathway Spring Classes

Spread the word!

HAPPY BORNDAY!

We'd like to take a moment to celebrate our partners who were born in March !

"Growing older is a gift, some people don't receive"

So here's to another year & thank you for being apart of our team !

We appreciate you !

Angela Smith

If you'd like for us to include you in our monthly celebration, please send an email with your date of birth to asmith@eckerd.org or manderson@eckerd.org

EMPLOYEE HIGHLIGHTS

We'd like to send a special thanks to Patricia Blackwell and her team for their collaboration efforts for the Quarterly Job & Resource Fair!

It was amazing !

We'd also like to send a special thanks to Sylvia Dietert and her team for their continued efforts with spearheading the Industry Initiatives programs! They are providing businesses with more skilled workers and jobseekers with more opportunities!

GREAT JOB !

PLEASE SEND OVER REFERRALS!

The Industry Initiatives team is having information sessions for their new programs. These sessions will be held at the AJC National Harbor

If you know of anyone who is interested in receiving training for the following industries, please call 301-618-8445 or email asmith@eckerd.org/manderson@eckerd.org

Listed below are the upcoming information sessions:

3/15 - Capital Healthcare Alliance Information Session - 12pm to 3pm

3/16 - Construction Works Program - 10am to 1pm

3/16 - Educational Partnership for IT Careers - 1pm to 4pm

UPGRADE OF MWE COMING SOON!

PLEASE INFORM YOUR STAFF!

An upgrade to the Maryland Workforce Exchange website is coming soon. There will be some changes to the layout and how you navigate through the system. It is geared to make the navigation process a bit easier for staff, businesses and customers.

The MWE V21 is set to roll out on March 21st !!

There is currently a virtual training webinar in MWE under "Staff online resources".

If you have some spare time, I recommend attending the training, it will be a great guide for the new features.