Workforce strengthens
partnerships with employers to give job seekers boost
By Arooj Ashraf, La
Prensa Correspondent
Cleveland: The Hispanic Workforce hosted an openhouse at
El Barrio on March 26, 2009, to strengthen relationships
with corporate partners and identify their hiring needs, to
increase recruitment and retention of qualified job seekers in
Northeast Ohio. |
Panelists Stephanie
Mercado, Ingrid Angel, Flor Gómez, and Joe López.
Photo by Arooj
Ashraf. |
1
Ingrid Angel,
Director at El Barrio, said by understanding employers’ needs,
the organization can tailor its vocational career path and
development training, helping clients find family-sustaining
jobs.
The Hispanic Workforce
is an initiative of the 2007 Hispanic Roundtable Convention,
which resolved to increase visibility of minorities, people with
disabilities, and give them access to stable sources of
work—Ohio’s unemployment rate has increased to 9.4 percent in
Feb. 2009 according to Ohio Department of Job and Family
Services, increasing job seekers by 217,000 in the past 12
months.
“We have 40 committed partners seeking to fill positions,” Angel
informed La Prensa. “These partners include Fortune 500
companies and small businesses. This is good news for job
seekers willing to complete El Barrio’s training and
qualification programs, which range from 2 to 4 week sessions in
job readiness, customer services, and career counseling.” Angel
said El Barrio’s recruitment and candidate screening helps
employers, who trust the agency to provide them with qualified
candidates.
Angel
said entry-level jobs are growing in sectors like health care,
customer service, and construction; El Barrio offers free career
counseling to clients. El Barrio also provides young adults with
prevocational training to prepare them for future in the
workforce. “We want to instill hard work at an early age,” she
said.
Joe López,
CEO and President of New Era Builders Inc., said
increasing recruitment is not enough; the goal should be to
retain Latinos in the workforce and that begins by fostering
strong working relationships.
The open house did just that by showcasing services provided by
Latino workforce development agencies like the West Side
Ecumenical Ministry (WSEM), Hispanic Business Association (HBA),
Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission, Hispanic
Alliance, and HUMDAOP.
Flor Gómez,
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor at ORSC, said
networking opens channels of communication and increases job
matches with clients—ORSC goes the extra mile for people with
disabilities, providing them access to rehabilitation
technology, training, and personal care assistance, with the
goal of making them self reliant.
The Hispanic Alliance
opened its doors in November; coordinator José Estremera
described the organization as the spoke of a wheel connecting
all Latino organizations and giving the greater community a
one-stop reference center. The Alliance seeks to increase
visibility, increase coordination and information sharing about
social, educational, and economic development.
Successful business is prudent for creating jobs and
Stephanie Mercado, Executive Director of HBA,
stressed the importance of maintaining proper records, setting
clear goals and business plans. HBA assists business with all of
their needs; managing finances, loans, and taxes, but Mercado
insists success depends on utilizing HBA resources and combining
them with passion and hard work.
“We are not going to do everything for you; if you want your
business to grow, you have to be an active partner,” Mercado
said.
HBA has expanded its services regionally and internationally
with hopes to increase economic opportunities in and from
Cleveland.
Internet: For West Side Ecumenical Ministry (WSEM) and
El Barrio,
www.wsem.org
For New Era Builders Inc.,
www.new-era-builders.com
For HBA, http://www.hbahcco.org
For Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission,
www.rsc.state.oh.us
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