Pandemic is ‘a fog that prevents us from seeing ahead.’ Job Skills program essential

Several organizations gathered last year to launch a free job training program for in-demand jobs designed to help break the cycle of poverty.

The initiative — Job Skills for New Careers — could not have happened at a better time.

“Lower income families have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. And many low-wage restaurant and retail employees — who were barely making ends meet before the pandemic — may not have a job to return to,” said Phil Hanson, president and CEO of Truman Heartland Community Foundation, one of the organizations involved in the new program. The Foundation serves eastern Jackson County, which includes Lee’s Summit.

“To me, COVID-19 seems like a fog that prevents us from seeing ahead, what’s in our future,” Hanson said. “However, in this case it’s very clear that there is going to be an even greater need for programs like our Job Skills for New Careers. More families in our community are having an economic crisis and we seek to give them a hand up by providing job skills training and support services to start a new career, get into a better paying job and significantly improve their economic status.”

In 2018, Truman Heartland held a series of conversations about current issues and the ways the foundation could help.

“Our Community for All Ages community initiative was winding down and we wanted to ensure the next initiative would connect with fund-holders,” Hanson says. “These conversations led to exploration of poverty in the region.”

A steering committee was formed in 2019 and met with social services agencies, school districts, economic development councils, local governments and nonprofit organizations that were working on the poverty issue.

Four collaboration partners were identified: Community Services League would match applicants with financial counseling; Mid-Continent Public Library would provide community resources; and University of Central Missouri and Herndon Career Center would provide the training in fields such as healthcare and skilled industrial trades.

“We believe these organizations bring unique assets to the table and by working together, we can help people get connected to the trainings and resources they need to get on the path to a better job and a brighter future,” Hanson said in a statement when the program was announced earlier this year.

The pandemic lockdown did interrupt training for certified nursing assistants, but the programs have since reopened.

Ten participants now participate in the training at the University of Central Missouri Innovation Campus in Lee’s Summit, with another group of 10 to 15 expected to begin in September.

Hanson says the training continues to be affected by the pandemic as trainees are not able to complete required practicum training hours in nursing homes and long-term care facilities because of state restrictions on visitors in those facilities.

“However, employers needing to hire CNAs are now working with our program to hire candidates as employees prior to their training,” Hanson says.

“This arrangement allows the trainees to be in the facilities to complete their required practicum training hours. We hope that this kind of employer participation will continue after the pandemic is over, because the ultimate goal of the program is successful job placement for program graduates. Investment and participation by employers are vital to the successful transition from trainee to employee.”

Debby Laufer knows what this kind of opportunity can do for a person.

Laufer is vice president of Career Services at Community Services League and works with enrolling individuals in these training programs. The need and interest are great, she says. There have been more than 300 applicants to the New Skills training.

“But once you complete the training, you have a lot of doors that open,” Laufer says.

Laufer says this program provides a “stackable certificate,” meaning individuals can go on to become certified medical technicians, licensed practical nurses or even registered nurses.

“It’s basic knowledge you can continue to build on it,” Laufer says.

One of Laufer’s favorite stories of success was a single, divorced mother of three who was relying on her parents financially when she first met Laufer.

She got her training and her high school degree, then went on to become a certified medical technician. And she is financially independent, which allowed her to do something very special, Laufer says.

“She got to take her children and go on a vacation. They never got to go on a vacation before,” Laufer says of the programs. “It’s truly magical.”

For more information, visit the program’s website at http://newskills.cslcares.org/