Platform to Employment kicking off its first Denver class on November 4
DENVER — The Denver Office of Economic Development (OED) will launch the first local class of the popular Platform to Employment (P2E) program, a unique and ambitious curriculum that specifically targets the needs of workers who have been struggling with unemployment for six months or more.
Denver is the seventh city in the nation to launch a P2E program with the support of AARP Foundation, Citi Community Development, and the Walmart Foundation. The launch will take place November 4 during a business roundtable and program orientation.
Across both urban and rural settings around the country, the P2E program has placed 80% of its participants in work experience programs, and nearly 90% of its graduates move on to a full-time job.
“Two demographic groups who often find themselves in this category of long-term unemployed are workers over age 50 and veterans,” said Paul Washington, OED executive director. It is precisely these two categories of workers, with far-reaching needs ranging from financial counseling to mental health services for families, who are the focus of the P2E job readiness program, Washington said.
“Being out of work is challenge enough, and for those workers who are unemployed for more than 27 weeks, the challenges to remain optimistic and find sustainable employment only grow,” said Ledy Garcia-Eckstein, OED’s acting director of Workforce Development. “We are pleased to bring this program to Denver and introduce the members of our first class, a mix of these young veterans and older workers.”
Joseph Carbone, president and CEO of The WorkPlace, the Connecticut workforce council that developed P2E, will discuss the specific challenges faced by individuals aged 50 and over and veterans who have been unemployed long-term. Over the course of lunch, other speakers will include Deputy Mayor Cary Kennedy, Washington, and Garcia-Eckstein. Attendees from the business community, nonprofits, and members of the Denver Workforce Investment Board are expected to attend.
With an estimated 4.1 million Americans unemployed for 27 weeks or longer (as of September 2013), long-term unemployment remains a significant concern to reviving the American economy. P2E offers two phases of service, the first being a five-week preparatory program which includes workshops on resume writing, interview preparation, self-marketing and other skills. During this time, participants and their families will have access to optional behavioral health services and counseling through local providers.
Following the preparatory program, P2E helps participants find positions with local employers who have job openings. The employers get a risk-free evaluation of these new hires during an eight-week trial period where wages are subsidized by the program.
AARP Foundation funds specifically go to serving long-term unemployed workers who are over 50 years of age. This population continues to spend longer periods of time looking for work and securing a stable income. AARP Foundation is working to reverse the downward spiral that many older Americans and their families face.
“Today, Americans aged 50 and up face choices and pressures no one could have prepared for,” said AARP Foundation President Jo Ann Jenkins. “Job loss and long-term unemployment among those 50 and older have wiped out retirement savings and caused any hopes of a secure financial future to fade. AARP Foundation is pleased to support the expansion of Platform to Employment to help put people aged 50 and up back to work in good jobs in their communities and to pave the way to a brighter and more secure future.”
Source article: http://www.northdenvertribune.com/2013/11/older-workers-young-veterans-the-focus-of-job-readiness-program-for-long-term-unemployed/