 SEARCH Childcare Provider Training Graduates. (Source: SEARCH)
SEARCH (Southeast Asian Refugee Community Home), a
Minneapolis Employment and Training partner/service provider, has fostered the
integration of immigrant and refugee families to life in Minnesota since 1992.
Immigrant and refugee populations change and the agency is now providing
services primarily to Somali, Bhutanese, and Burmese populations.
SEARCH’s bilingual employment counselors help job seekers
build their marketable job skills and assist them in creating resumes and
preparing for interviews. They also prepare employers on cultural differences
that may arise when hiring their clients.
The agency offers training for small electronics soldering
and hopes to expand customized training to accounting, interpreter training,
and cell phone repair over the next two years. SEARCH is launching a pilot
bookkeeping training program in May by working directly with an accounting firm that needs more entry level bookkeepers.
In 2016, SEARCH served 198 clients across all
programs - 165 entered into employment with an average wage of $11.80/hr. The 38 participants certified for small
electronics soldering were placed into jobs which averaged $12.80/hr.
Minnesota companies in advanced manufacturing, agriculture,
health care, information technology or transportation can apply for grants to
recruit and train apprentices. The funding is available under the Minnesota
Apprenticeship Initiative (MAI), which will provide up to $5,000 per apprentice
for classroom and on-the-job training. DEED and the Department of Labor and
Industry are partners in the program.
Throughout the next five years, Minnesota will engage more
than 100 employers in developing registered apprenticeship programs to recruit,
train and retain 1,000 new apprentices in 30 occupations.
Grant applications are due by June 14. Learn
more.
 Teens get employers’ advice at the teen job fair’s Prep
Rally.
On Saturday, April 22, more than 350 teens attended the
eleventh annual Minneapolis Teen Job and Opportunity Fair. A pre-event Prep Rally invited early arrivers to refine
resumes, apply on-line, and sharpen their interview skills. Hiring tips
continued during the opening interactive workshop facilitated by the Youth
Coordinating Board's employment committee. Five panelists answered questions
and shared employer insights, encouraging the young job seekers to be bold, to
emphasize extracurricular and volunteer experience, and to display
self-discipline at work.
Multiple sectors were represented, including retail,
nonprofit, entertainment, health care, and the public sector. Home Depot,
TJMaxx, Wendy's, UPS, Valley Fair, North Memorial Health Care, Minneapolis Park
and Recreation Board, and Hennepin County were among the exhibitors. Volunteer, education, and internship
opportunities were also promoted.
City of Minneapolis Employment and Training thanks Hennepin
County for financial support and Lunds/Byerlys for providing refreshments. The event was made possible with planning and event management support
from Hennepin County Library, Minneapolis WorkForce Centers, the Youth
Coordinating Board, and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
In 2015, Minneapolis joined with three accelerated private
training programs to create Minneapolis Saint Paul
TechHire to help fill the fast-growing demand for tech jobs in the region
that now features nearly 7,000 vacancies in the Twin Cities area.
MSP TechHire announced that nearly 600 graduates were placed
in full-time positions, at average salaries of $48,000, through 2016. The 450
certified graduates who landed jobs are 33 percent women and 25 percent
minorities. Some 150 students who did not complete the courses or certification
moved into higher-paying jobs involving office technology.
Trainees have been hired as help desk, desktop support and
software developer personnel and have found employment with the likes of the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Target, the
Nerdery, Best Buy, Allina Health, Fairview, and dozens of other employers.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges calls TechHire a boon to the
regional economy and great pathway to IT certification and good jobs for those
who lack IT degrees.
Read the whole Star Tribune article.
To find ways to address the issue of
finding and retaining entry-level employees, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce
invited business leaders, foundation executives and nonprofit directors to The
Hidden Talent Pools conference.
In one recent year, turnover for
tellers at Sunrise Bank reached 50 percent, and it wasn’t easy for managers to
find people to replace those workers. That changed after the bank started
partnering with local nonprofit organizations — including Goodwill-Easter
Seals, Twin Cities Rise, and Project for Pride in Living — to provide education
and job training programs.
Minnesota boasts hundreds of
governmental and nonprofit career training programs in various counties across
the state, with many serving groups that include high school dropouts, new
immigrants, former inmates and people with disabilities — populations that are
often referred to as “hidden talent pools.”
In addition to the employers, the
nonprofit organizations that train employees and connect them to the workforce
have reported positive retention rates of individuals they’ve helped place in
jobs.
See the entire MINNPOST article.
A recent state survey found most
Minnesota employers believe they have workforces that reflect the diversity of
their customers and communities. But employment data show they're often fooling
themselves.
Racial and ethnic minorities are a
growing portion of Minnesota's workforce, according to statistics from the
Equal Opportunity Employment Commission and U.S. Census. Yet they are
significantly underrepresented in many kinds of jobs and industries.
The state's workforce diversity
survey found a large divide in the practices of large and small companies.
About three quarters of large employers said they are trying increase racial
diversity. Only about a quarter of firms with 50 or fewer workers reported making
such efforts.
Access the MPR story here.
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