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To help meet the state’s workforce needs, the West Virginia National Guard’s Military Authority economic development office has created or participated in a variety of programs that provide education and job training to civilians and military personnel alike.
Jobs and Hope West Virginia is one such program. Developed by Gov. Jim Justice in response to the state’s opioid crisis, Jobs and Hope offers support and workforce training opportunities to adults across the state, not just those who struggle with addiction. The National Guard and the West Virginia Military Authority (WVMA) are just a few of many state agencies that participate in the program and help participants work toward developing their skillsets and employability. The goal is to give people the tools they need to secure and maintain employment while offering employers a ready and trained workforce.
“On one hand you have employees who might be hesitant to dip their toe into a different type of work environment and on the other you have employers who would start a business if they knew they have a ready work force,” said Cindy Bailey, director of economic development for the West Virginia National Guard. “We help bridge that gap and provide those education needs and training.”
Bailey said the program helps in other ways, too. For example, program participants who have a criminal record may have non-violent offenses expunged. The program’s transition agents also work with participants who need assistance in building their resumes or brushing up on interviewing skills.
As part of the program, the WVMA provides a 28-day residential training program in heavy equipment operations at Camp Dawson that includes a 10-hour Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) course in workplace safety. Deb Harris, lead transition agent with Jobs and Hope, said the WVMA has facilitated 13 Heavy Equipment Operator courses with 82 program participants and has allowed 15 Jobs and Hope participants to complete their OSHA 10 and CPR certifications.
As students prepare to leave the program, transition agents guide them through a resume building and interviewing workshop to further prepare them to re-enter the workforce.
“At the culmination of the course, we conduct on-site interviews and bring in employers who in turn, many times, hire straight out of the class,” Bailey said.
The partnership with Jobs and Hope doesn’t just focus on heavy machinery. The program also offers Greenhouse Production Worker and Lawn and Landscaping courses to train workers to fill employment gaps in those industries.
“Employers are consistently looking for high quality employees that can move into management level positions,” Harris said. “Using multiple armory sites throughout the state, these weeklong trainings have been beneficial to many local greenhouses in need of employees, as well as Jobs and Hope participants in need of employment.”
Guardsmen and veterans also have the opportunity to receive training in agricultural industries through Patriot Guardens. Director Melissa Stewart said the program helps connect Soldiers and Airmen to agriculture in a variety of ways, including high tunnel production, orchard management, meat production and processing and small business development.
“We’re currently working on a grant that would allow us to do more with workforce development focused on our population, including military veterans, M-Day Soldiers and Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy cadets, and bring these workforce trainings to them as well,” Stewart said. “We’re trying to be unique in our approach so we can look at our Guard resources and individuals who we know are ready for the workforce, especially our cadets coming out of MCA. We embrace them, get them trained and directly into the workforce. That’s our overall goal.”
This includes providing Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy-South cadets with a unique opportunity to learn the meat cutting trade.
“We started a program last term where one of our educators goes to Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy-South in Montgomery to work with cadets in a pre-apprenticeship program and eventual apprenticeship with Buzz Food Service,” Stewart said. “When they are ready to graduate from MCA, they are set up as prime candidates to go into the paid two-year apprenticeship that Buzz Foods has already developed.”
Whether heavy machinery or agriculture, the West Virginia National Guard and WVMA are helping to develop a ready and trained workforce for a variety of jobs. Stewart said that introducing workers to the different jobs available through Jobs and Hope or Patriot Guardens programs helps them to understand how they can use their skills in different ways.
“It’s not just about workforce development or job creation,” Stewart said. “It’s about creating a different approach to motivating and developing a whole workforce mentality and providing employees for these industries.
“We know we can provide a structured pipeline of ready and able employees if we’re part of the conversation,” she said.
| Date Taken: | 11.02.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 11.09.2021 13:14 |
| Story ID: | 409002 |
| Location: | CHARLESTON, WV, US |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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