March 8, 2016 | By Kate Bramson, Journal Staff Writer
The state is channeling federal dollars to Job Club RI and Platform to Employment
Denice Riberdy, of North Kingstown, was laid off in December by a midsized Providence law firm where she worked as a litigation paralegal for about two years. David Fogerty, of West Greenwich, was laid off in May from his job directing the financial planning and analysis team at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, where he worked for 28 years.
They were among about 28,000 unemployed Rhode Islanders in December — a number that has dropped from a high of 63,971 in June 2009, when the unemployment rate was also its highest, at 11.3 percent. Rhode Island’s unemployment rate has since dropped significantly, to 5.1 percent in December.
Despite improvements in the state’s economy, challenges remain for thousands seeking work in a state that still hasn’t recovered all the 39,800 jobs wiped out by the Great Recession.
Now, the state Department of Labor and Training is dedicating nearly $1.5 million in federal grant money to bring the Platform to Employment (P2E) program, launched in Connecticut in 2011, into Rhode Island to help unemployed people who have been out of work at least six months. The nonprofit will subcontract about $150,000 of the grant to Job Club RI, a nonprofit that volunteer Steve Colella launched in 2009 that has since helped about 1,000 people.
Unemployment, particularly long gaps of unemployment, complicates matters for job seekers, DLT Director Scott Jensen says: “It really zaps their confidence when they need it the most.”
The DLT’s largest effort under Jensen is Real Jobs Rhode Island, which has awarded $5 million in grants to 26 teams of private companies, nonprofits, educational institutions and industry associations that are training people for available jobs at partner companies. But Real Jobs will not meet the demands of all people and all companies, Jensen said.
Both P2E and Job Club help unemployed people find their footing again, connect with potential employers and navigate today’s job search, which Fogerty and Riberdy say involves much online interaction and requires people to make connections via social media in ways traditional job searches years ago didn’t require.
The two Rhode Islanders joined Job Club and found Colella’s program very helpful.
Fogerty liked that speakers teach people how to use LinkedIn to find people they know at companies where they’d like to work. He said it’s important for government to recognize “unemployment is not a one-size-fits-all approach,” and he sees value in the DLT investing in Job Club.
Riberdy said the “101 Interview Q&A” that Colella shared urged job seekers to answer questions based on the employer’s perspective, and how the prospective employee would help the firm. As she worked to change careers, she landed two extensive interviews, for which Job Club “over-prepared” her.
All that work paid off Thursday, when Riberdy accepted a job as an executive assistant to the CEO for a Boston company.
The Platform to Employment (P2E) program is five weeks of mandatory job-readiness training: career coaching, skills assessment, financial counseling, job-placement strategy. If an employer agrees to hire a graduate of the program, P2E pays the employee’s salary and employer taxes for the first eight weeks, giving employers a chance to “test” new employees without taking on financial risk, said Tom Long, spokesman for The WorkPlace in Bridgeport, Conn., which launched P2E.
In Rhode Island, P2E expects to help 175 people, Jensen said. It’s now recruiting people who have exhausted unemployment benefits and have been out of work at least six months. People must file online applications and interview for the program, Long said. P2E now operates in half a dozen locations, Long said. Rhode Island is the second state to implement P2E, after Connecticut. Records show about 80 percent of people who complete the program land a “work experience,” and 90 percent of those are hired by the companies, Long said.
Job Club accepts anyone who wants to participate in its six-week sessions at the West Warwick Public Library. Colella has also forged relationships with 52 area companies. The program says 62 percent of people who have attended at least three sessions have found jobs.
Job seekers and employers hoping to join P2E may register online at www.platformtoemployment.com. More Job Club details are at www.jobclubri.org.
Source Article: http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20160218/NEWS/160219259