DESDTE Partnership Project Update

1
DES/DTE Partnership Project Update Hopkinsville
DES Office First to Report on KY Tech Student
Career Placement Program
Pictured above from left Dave Rigsby, DTE
internal policy analyst Lisa Lewis, Hopkinsville
DES employment services specialist and Arthur
Dunn, Caldwell Co. ATC principal look over
student materials.
Pictured Left This is a look at the job
listings on the Hopkinsville DES office website.
Right Lisa Lewis and Arthur Dunn discuss job
opportunities with a group of seniors.
2
In January CWD Secretary Allen Rose
announced a new project sponsored by the
Departments for Employment Services (DES) and
Technical Education (DTE) called the KY Tech
Student Career Placement Program. The goal
of the agreement was to bring the two agencies,
area technology center (ATC) principals and local
DES offices together in an effort to better
prepare KY Tech students for employment in the
workforce upon graduation. Now, the fruits
of labor from all the parties involved are being
realized with the budding relationships between
ATCs and local DES offices across the state.
According to Dave Rigsby, DES/DTE partnership
coordinator and Paul Keibler, Kentucky assistant
director for field services, the Caldwell Co. ATC
has reported that 70
3
of its seniors have registered with the
Hopkinsville local employment office.
Carolyn Balthrop, Hopkinsville office manager,
has enlisted the help of Employment Service
Specialist Lisa Lewis to provide ongoing services
to the school by way of job market counseling.
She has established a rapport with the students
through regular visits and become known as one
they can turn to for help in their workforce
endeavors after high school. Ms. Lewis is
currently creating student user IDs and PINs to
enable access to local, state and national job
orders on the Hopkinsville local office website.
Another resource in Hopkinsville is the
One-Stop Center which provides an opportunity for
students to become acquainted with services
including testing, resume writing and
4
application assistance. As seniors identify
job opportunities and share their desire to
interview with the local office, DES will provide
them with job referrals. This help from Ms.
Lewis and DES is just what our students need to
prepare for getting a job or furthering their
education, said Arthur Dunn, Caldwell Co. ATC
principal. We also plan to provide registration
opportunities for the remaining seniors in the
near future. Mr. Dunn plans presentations
with Ms. Lewis on interviewing and employability
skills. The Hopkinsville office has
certainly been a leader in the implementation of
the DES/DTE partnership, but local offices from
all over the state have been reporting marked
progress in their efforts as well.
5
Progress from Around the State Georgetown
Harrison Co. ATC Principal John Hodge has been
assisted by Ted Beebe, Georgetown DES field
office manager, to help educate and work with KY
Tech students on services provided by DES.
This is a new opportunity for our students to
get connected with a world of meaningful
employment and locate employers they might not
have been aware of before, said Mr. Hodge. Mr.
Beebe has been invaluable in making arrangements
with Eva Renaker to provide sessions for our use
of the DES online system at the Maysville
Community College Licking Valley Center.
(Renaker is continuing education coordinator at
the center.)
6
Students now have a better chance of
locating a job tied to the occupational training
they receive at our school, said Mr. Hodge.
The center, conveniently located next door to the
ATC, will be the site for a May 1st student
training session. Paducah Gina Triplett,
employer relations representative at the Paducah
DES office, has provided partnership information
to the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce, Paducah
Leadership Class 2003 and Alumni Board as well as
the chambers Business and Education Committee.
During the January meeting of
the Paducah/McCracken County Steering Committee,
Paducah DES office Assistant Manager Rhonda
Fulkerson discussed the placement plan and
provided copies to principals, counselors and
teachers. Paducah ATC Principal Don Rowlett
attended a Workforce
7
Investment Board meeting in March and discussed
project goals with Kathy Gullett, director for
field services. Rowlett and Paul Friedlander,
field office manager for the Paducah DES office,
discussed plans for seniors and some juniors to
visit DES in April, register for work and learn
how to use the resource area. Ginger
Counts, Mayfield DES manager, has contacted
Mayfield ATC Principal Roger Pierce to discuss
future program plans. Counts, Friedlander and
Lana Riley, Mayfield DES assistant field office
manager, attended an April 16th meeting with the
Mayfield ATC Spring Steering Committee to promote
and discuss the placement plan. The Paducah
and Mayfield DES offices are providing services
to all the local ATCs, says Friedlander. We are
all working together to make this effort a
success.
8
Prestonsburg Deborah Allen, DES Prestonsburg
field office manager has been working with both
the Martin Co. and Floyd Co. ATCs. She has begun
sending the ATCs a daily job listing via e-mail
and loaning them employability videos for
students to view. When these seniors graduate,
they will be registered with and knowledgeable of
the services offered through DES, says Allen.
We can also provide the students with how to
training of the Americas Job Bank. For
more information, please visit its website
http//www.ajb.org/.
9
Registering of seniors by self-registration
prior to the end of the school year is being
planned along with training sessions for
teachers. One of the most visible outcomes
at the Prestonsburg DES office has been the
addition of a co-op student from the Martin Co.
ATC office technology program. Nikki Goble, a
senior, is working 2 ½ hrs. twice a week with the
Veterans Program for the DES Prestonsburg
office. She is a tremendous asset and provides
excellent service for our veterans, says Allen.
We are delighted with the services provided
by DES, says Martin Co. ATC Principal Charlie
Six. Nikki will continue to grow as a result of
this experience and can broaden her employment
horizons.
10
As more DES offices and ATCs from around the
state blend their efforts to implement the
DES/DTE partnership, the success of the program
will show through the successful outcomes of the
students it serves. Editors Note As local
reports continue to develop and become refined,
we plan to pass along progress. Please keep us
informed of your successes.
Good News Flash 21 April 22, 2003
(Click on the logo to go to the Technically
Speaking Page)