YOUR JOB

PIPELINE TO JOBS: CONNECTING TO JOBS WITH A FUTURE

The Making Connections Network has special relationships with employers that offer good jobs with a future - mainly hospitals in the downtown Medical Center, and UPS where part-time jobs lead to a free education

 

But it's not all about healthcare and UPS. The Network also has ties into the bigger One Stop Career Center system based at Jefferson Community College, at the new Construction One Stop at the Louisville Urban League and the Making It Work program that specializes in helping people with criminal records get over that barrier to employment.

 

For people who need work quickly, the Network has special relationships with janitorial services, and warehouse operations that hire a lot of workers all the time. Some of them earn their way to permanent positions by starting out as temps.

 

Over the last three years, more than 400 residents of Making Connections neighborhoods have gone to work and more than 100 have signed up for job training for all kinds of jobs, including:

 

* Truck driver
* Food server
* Construction worker
* Nurse
* Nursing assistant
* Office worker
* Medical technician
* Bank teller
* Child care worker
* Security guard
* Sales clerk
* Housekeeper
* Cashier
* Utility worker

 

The first step on any of these paths is to call Anthony Smith at 618-5979 or send him an e mail at Anthony.Smith@MakeChangeTogether.org.

 

MICHELLE WILLIAMS - NORTON HEALTHCARE

Did you know that Norton Healthcare offers its employees a $5,000 forgivable loan to help those who qualify buy their first home? That's just one of several benefits you'll hear about when you meet Louisville native Michelle Williams.

 

Michelle is our person on the inside at Norton Healthcare. She's called a "post-employment coach." She calls it her "dream job," helping employees from the four Making Connections neighborhoods troubleshoot problems. Whether it's transportation issues, working out childcare or figuring a savings plan, Michelle can help.

 

She also helps new employees establish career goals and navigate opportunities within Norton to prepare for continuing education, health-related career advancement opportunities. What she likes about her job, she says, "is the reward I feel at the end of the day when I've helped someone envision a goal, accomplish a goal, and made a difference in their lives."

 

Connect with Michelle Williams at michelle.williams@nortonhealthcare.org or call 502.629.7952

For a list of opportunities with Norton Healthcare, please check their website at www.nortonheatlthcare.com/careers.

DALLAS THORNTON-YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES UNLIMITED

Okay. So how many of your friends have graduated high school with assistance from a former Harlem Globetrotter?


Louisville native Dallas Thornton has worked as a youth advocate since he retired from the Globetrotters in 1984. He now works with Youth Opportunities Unlimited, which helps young people prepare for jobs by getting their education (a high school diploma can earn you $7,000 more a year than entering the job market without one). He likes his job, he says, because it helps develop young people into the community's future leaders.

 

Dallas helps young adults from our four Making Connections neighborhoods negotiate through their GEDs and transition into college if they are interested. Because more education means more earning power. And that's not new math.

 

Connect with Dallas Thornton at dallas.thornton@kentuckianaworks.org or call 502.574.4177.

HEALTHCARE: LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES & SUPPORT

The Network has a special relationship with Norton Healthcare and the University of Louisville Hospital to help members find and keep jobs and move up in healthcare, a growing industry with lots of opportunities for a stable career with a future.

 

When Making Connections started, less than ten people from Making Connections neighborhoods worked at Louisville's second-largest employer, Norton Healthcare. Today there are close to 60 - and some of them have been there as long as three years and won promotions to better jobs.

 

Hospitals are like small cities - they have all kinds of jobs, even if someone isn't interested in taking care of people who are sick.

 

Norton Healthcare even has some special benefits - like $5,000 toward the purchase of a first home and savings on car loans for employees committed to making a career with Norton. Members interested in clinical work can qualify for scholarships and training to move up into nursing, medical technician, and other fields. At Norton, a special coach helps new hires adjust to the work and get ready to move up if they want to.

 

At University Hospital, members will have someone in Human Resources looking out for them.

 

If you're interested in a solid career with a good future, call Anthony Smith at 618-5979 to find out about jobs in healthcare.

 

UPS DELIVERS EDUCATION

Most jobs at Louisville's largest employer, UPS, are part time and at night, but they offer big opportunities for a free education.


There are also some full-time, days jobs, but fewer of them.


UPS's part-time jobs sorting packages and loading airplanes connect members to Metropolitan College, where school at Jefferson Community and Technical College or U of L, is free.


UPS workers not interested in Metropolitan College are eligible for "Earn and Learn" benefits that pay full tuition at JCC - another route to free education for a good career.


High school students can get their foot in the door at UPS during their senior year through School to Work -- a great opportunity for young people to get a head start on a solid career and a college education.

 

If you're interested in a job that pays you to go to school and build a good career, call Anthony Smith at 618-5979 and ask about UPS Metropolitan College and Earn and Learn.