Dislocated Workers Program *New*

April, 2007

Scott Patrick DeGrand

Two years ago I left a job I was dissatisfied with to pursue a career that would make me happy. During the process of filing for unemployment I was introduced to a career specialist on staff with the displaced workers program. After meeting one on one with the career specialist, she discovered that I wasn’t exactly sure what type of job I wanted to do and encouraged me to attend a career exploration workshop offered by PCC. Utilizing methodology such as the Myers-Briggs type indicator, the workshop helped me determine what aspects of a job I found most desirable and directed me to focus on a job in information systems. Armed with a sense of direction, I registered with a staffing agency and was hired on as a contractor working on IS security at Providence Health & Services. To gain the knowledge necessary to obtain full time employment I attended A+ computer systems training at PCC, which was paid for through the displaced workers program. I can now happily say that with the assistance of a career specialist and the displaced workers program I have obtained a full time position as a systems access specialist with Providence Health & Services

Dislocated Workers Program

March, 2007

Mark Hashizume

Mark Hashizume was laid off at Intel after working there for little over one year as a permanent employee. He decided to participate at the PCC WorkSource CAPITAL Career Center Dislocated Worker Program (DWP) after finding out from other laid off Intel workers that the Career Specialists there can help him.
Mark found out that despite his 15 plus years of technology project management experience and two graduate degrees, most Professional (PMP) certification in order to be considered for employment. Mark's Career Specialist (Trinh Vu) was able to help him to get training for the PMP certificate through the Portland State University Professional Development Center.

Trinh Vu is also in the process of getting funding for the actual certification process and test. After being out of work for four months, Mark is now a senior project manager at the Regence Blue Cross group in downtown Portland.

Dislocated Workers Program

December, 2006

Phil Ewers

As the result of a large re-organization of his former employer’s company, Phil Ewers was surprised to find himself laid off from the job which he had held for several years as a Sales Manager. In the process of beginning his new job search, Phil heard that the Dislocated Worker Program at the CAPITAL Career Center might be able to help him to change careers. He attended the program orientation and was assigned to Gayle Armstrong as his Career Specialist. In the process of discussing his interests for a new career, Phil shared that he is a long distance runner and had run in several marathons. He is passionate in his interest in personal fitness. He was considering a new career as a Personal Trainer in order to earn a living doing work that would be so close to his heart.

Gayle advised him to begin researching the field and training opportunities to determine if this occupation would be a good fit. Through this process, Phil interviewed several trainers and fitness center managers in order to learn what it takes to become a Personal Trainer. Phil was pleased to receive two strong job leads as a result of these informational interviews. He also learned about the types of training and certifications needed to become a successful Personal Trainer.

Through the support of the Dislocated Worker Program, Phil has become a certified Personal Trainer and is now working as a trainer at a local fitness center.

Phil remarks about his experience: “I realized that I wasn’t doing what I really wanted to do with my life. Through my work with Gayle and with the support of the Dislocated Worker Program, I am now doing what I want to do. I am much more satisfied with my work, and I’m helping people to be healthier too. Thank you.”

Steps to Success Program

September, 2006

Charlene Phillips

Charlene came to the CAPITAL Career Center through the Steps to Success Program. When she arrived, she was recovering from a past unstable work history. She was also struggling with surviving on a livable wage due to limited training and education.

Charlene started rebuilding her life-skills and polishing her office skills while she was enrolled in the Simulated Worksite Program. Charlene truly valued the experience of utilizing her creative expertise as she helped to generate the classroom projects for the Simulated Worksite class.

Her Career Specialist, Diane Jantze recognized her leadership and enthusiasm. As a reward for her efforts Charlene was referred into other educational components offered at the Capital Career Center. Three months later Charlene received her GED and completed the Basic Computer Class. With her thirst for more knowledge, Charlene bought a laptop computer and started practicing her Simulated Worksite homework projects.

This was such an accomplishment for a person who was timid to touch a computer only three months prior. Charlene is now successfully employed as an office manager. With her perseverance and the opportunities she created, she now has an enhanced lifestyle for herself and her five children. Charlene was able to purchase her first vehicle and is on the road towards success!

Dislocated Workers Program

July 25th, 2006

Alfred Bell

In October of 2004, I was laid off from a company after working there for twenty years. That meant I had not written a resume or sat for an interview since 1984. I was to learn things had changed. The company that let me go started my re-education by paying for career counseling. The real work, however, began when I came to the CAPITAL Career Center.

I took all the workshops, absorbing new knowledge on cover letters, interviews, thank-you letters, resumes tailored to the specific job and the critical importance of networking.

I was now fueled with the latest information for a successful job search. Still, no job came. Luckily for me, my career counselor, Cynthia Dailey-Hewkin, also ran the Just Do It Again networking group. What the group did was put me with others in my situation, jobless, looking for work, looking for ideas. What the group gave me was community.I was quiet in the beginning and, as I grew in confidence, I spoke up more. What Cynthia brought to the group, more than ideas and guest speakers, was positive energy. Her enthusiasm kept me afloat.

There was a job fair that led to my current job with New Seasons Market. On the night before the job fair, despite all my preparation to get me to that point, I was shaky. I had doubts about going. I remembered something Cynthia often said: "Say yes when you want to say no." I said yes and attended the job fair. Eventually, I was hired and, after three months, I was promoted. None of this would have happened without Cynthia and the amazing staff at the CAPITAL Career Center. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Note: Al made a career transition – going from working in the television industry to taking a job that would allow him time to pursue his dream (writing screen plays). Within three months he was promoted to his present position of assistant front-end manager complete with pay raise and insurance benefits.

Seniors Make Sense Program/Building Futures Program

June 26th, 2006

Gerald King:

Gerald King never forgot his printing industry skills from years of experience in his past career. When he came to the Capital Career Center, he was determined to move forward with his life and mustered up all his persistence and motivation to take the steps in the right direction. His very first endeavor was to dive into working on getting his GED certificate. He enrolled in the GED preparation class but it wasn’t long before he was also accepted into the Seniors Make Sense Program and placed in a training position at Good Samaritan Industries. Good Samaritan Industries saw his printing press experience and put him to work on large-scale printing projects for their quarterly newsletter.

His momentum couldn’t be stopped. After attending the Capital Career Center job search workshops and meeting with Trinh Vu, Career Specialist, his persistence paid off and he landed a job as a Press Operator with Trader Publishing Company. Gerald very generously gives a lot of credit to the staff and resources available to him at the Capital Career Center. He says, “The people were very nice and helpful…my GED teachers took extra time to help me… the computers and other resources in the Resource Room also helped me to find my new job.” “I recommend the Capital Career Center classes and services to anyone that is out there job seeking…I am very happy with everything.”

His new job brings him a lot of satisfaction. The fact that he is able to work full-time, receive full benefits, and earn more money are enough things to help Gerald feel very pleased with the way his life is moving.

Dislocated Workers Project

June 5th, 2006

Lucila Tapia Cisneros:

"As a laid off worker at Selectron, a Rapid Response representative from CAPITAL Career Center came and gave us an on-site orientation. After coming here I was given Jaime Rodriguez as a Career Specialist. We worked on an Career and Income Improvement Plan, which included improving my English comprehension skills. During my workplace English class there was an Entry Level High Tech training recruitment and I was tested, interviewed and selected for training.

I completed the six week course on May 12th, 2006. I have been hired at Express and began working at Merix as of June 3rd, 2006"

"En estando agui, no se mucho ingles y no tengo un plan a largo plazo. Yo he progresado bastante y mi ingles es mucho mas mejor. Espero que voy ay avanzar en mi vida. Gracias por esta programa y sus servicios."

Dislocated Workers Project

May 26th, 2006

Marianne Truelove:

Marianne Truelove was laid off as a Purchase Supervisor and met with Michelle Parr (her Career Specialist) at the Oregon Employment Office in Hillsboro after the orientation. Marianne has worked in Sales, Human Resources and the Banking Industry.

She knew she wanted to get a job in Human Resources but needed to update her skills. She attended Resume workshops where she learned how to create a marketable resume, Marketing Yourself to be trained to create her elevator speech, Interview Strategies to gain knowledge of how to answer behavior based interview questions, and Negotiations to learn to be confident in requesting a market driven salary and how to link the value and benefits she would bring to the employer with her salary request. She also needed to update her computer skills through the Self-Paced Lab. She is now proficient on the latest Microsoft software.

"I attended all the workshops but the most helpful for me were:

• Changes in resume formatting and information from the Resume Writing workshop
• Marketing Yourself
• Interview Strategies
• Negotiations.

These workshops were a tremendous help in securing my new position at the Portland Public Schools as a Human Resource Staffing Specialist. I was surprised by all the changes in the job search process from just 4 years ago. The openness of employers to utilize resumes instead of depending on just applications was one of the biggest change. The CAPITAL Career Center provided all the information and the how to’s along with individual support from a Career Counselor in order for me to feel more confident in today’s market.

Looking for work is a stress full time in anyone’s life but Michelle Parr, Career Counselor, asked one question which brought things back into perspective. What do you really want to do? I had forgotten I had a dream as I was too busy concentrating on finding any office job. There are many programs available beyond job search and Michelle was the expert to find the right program to support my needs.

To keep the dream going, the Dislocated Workers Project is going to pay for me to attend PSU in the fall to work towards an HR certificate. This certificate will make me more competitive and eligible for promotions in the Human Resource field.

It’s a great feeling to know there are people out there dedicated to help in the job search process and beyond! A big THANKS to all!"

Building Futures Program

May 10, 2006

Rhonda Malm:

"I love the CAPITAL Career Center. I don't know if I can say enough of what I have learned from this place"

"I learned how to network, get resources, basic computer training and best of all I learned that there was a budget available to go to school."

"I am glad to get a chance to work with Tanya Maldonado. She is one of the best Career Counselors. She went above and beyond the call of duties (I think!) to ensure that I was getting all that I needed like a bus pass, computer class and get a CNA training at the closest location available. This training opened a lot of doors for me. I am working independently as a Care Provider. I have two jobs now in the related field."

"I used to earn my living in production as a solder assembler, but by coming to the career center I got a chance at a career that really makes me happy. I am very grateful to all the people at the center that have helped me in this transition."

As Rhonda's Career Specialist it has been a great pleasure to watch her grow and develop not only as a person but helping her enhance her skills. Rhonda was living on the streets due to in her words "bad judgment calls". Working with Rhonda has been very enriching and her success is contagious. She is currently moving into her own apartment and preparing to sit for her CNA exam...Tanya Maldonado, Career Specialist, CAPITAL Career Center.