Community programs help people get jobs, speakers say
The Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce used its Rooster Booster Breakfast on Thursday to highlight training programs available to get more people into the local workforce.
Frank Anderson, president of Sun Windows, talked about the Greater Owensboro Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (GO FAME), which the community created in 2015.
High school graduates enroll in an apprentice-style course, going to college two days a week and working three days a week for a sponsoring company.
In 18 months, they can earn an Associate in Applied Science degree from Owensboro Community & Technical College and have a job waiting for them.
Kerri Bailey, human resources manager at UniFirst Corporation, said the Greater Owensboro Facilitating Equitable Manufacturing and Leadership Educational Solutions — GO FEMALES — program created in 2019, works to give women more opportunities in manufacturing.
“It’s instrumental in promoting women,” she said. “It makes them feel loved and supported.”
Bailey said women who never thought they could do it found that they can.
“They’re achieving something they never thought they could,” she said.
Last year, OCTC joined with the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation, the Daviess County Detention Center, the City of Owensboro and Daviess County Fiscal Court to begin providing skills training for inmates who are nearing the end of their sentences and ready to re-enter the workforce.
Jailer Art Maglinger said the program is working well.
Those in the program are able to be employed the day they are released, he said.
Amanda Owen, founder and executive director at Puzzle Pieces, said people with a disability represent a major source for businesses looking for workers.
The Society for Human Resource Management says, “In 2022, about 21% of people with a disability in the U.S. were employed, up from about 19% in 2021.”
That leaves a lot who aren’t.
In 2018, Puzzle Pieces launched Employment Opportunities, a supported employment provider that helps connect individuals with disabilities to jobs in the local workforce.
The Coalition for Workforce Diversity has helped 85 people with disabilities find jobs, Owen said.
By Keith Lawrence Messenger-Inquirer