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As seen in the REB of Hampton County Inc. E-Newsletter, April 2004 edition (http://www.rebhc.org) 09/08/05 The official end of summer is still a few weeks away but it is safe to say that the general populace considers summer over when our young people return to school. Many of our young people have finished their summer employment, vacations, beach bumming, etc and are now happily back in the classroom. All right, maybe just back in the classroom. Many youth had a productive summer while others were not blessed with the opportunity to work nor participate in any structured summer programming. For many, this was not due to a lack of motivation but a lack of opportunity. Inevitably, there are never enough summer opportunities for all youth who want a job or would like to participate in an educational program during the summer months. We can all agree that this is a shame and youth should have the opportunity to advance themselves through training, education, or traditional work experiences in the summer months. Numerous organizations and individuals work very hard to secure the funding, materials and other resources necessary to operate a summer program for youth. These organizations and individuals do a great job and are an asset to our community. Unfortunately, as we all know it is very difficult in today’s social and economic environment to secure those desperately needed resources, it is even more difficult when your community is not a capital city. Communities must leverage resources as well as support those non-traditional partners who can help to combat this problem and create much needed opportunities for our young people. The 2005 Domino’s Summer of Success program, which held its final session on August 18th, is a great example of how various partners can come together and create innovative and sustainable programming. The final session of the Domino’s Summer of Success program capped a remarkable summer experience for both participants and program staff. The six-week program exceeded all expectations and provided participants, many of who would not have had the opportunity to participate in a structured summer experience, with a wealth of employment related information. The program provided youth with an additional benefit in that sessions were held at the Greater New Bedford Career Center providing participants with exposure to the services available at the Center as well as those services available through the New Directions Youth Services Department. Nelson Hockert-Lotz, owner of two Domino’s restaurants, first introduced the program to the Greater New Bedford Youth Council Director and New Directions Youth Services Manager in June. Mr. Hockert-Lotz, a self titled life long learner, participate in the “Lessons from a Lifetime in Business” seminars put on by the Southcoast Learning Network and immediately thought the model would be equally beneficial to young people. Ultimately the program grew to include a curriculum based instructional component in addition to the guest speakers who participated. Based on participant feedback and attendance, the program truly surpassed all expectations. Participants expressed a wide range of opinions on the program. The general theme of participant feedback included the benefits of the program in addition to gratitude for the opportunity to participate in a summer program. In addition to Mr. Hockert-Lotz, the Domino’s Summer of Success staff and participants would like to thank the local companies who provided financial support to the Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board’s summer employment program. Those sponsors include AquaPoint, Sovereign Bank, and the New Bedford Rehabilitation Hospital. I would like to thank Mr. Hockert-Lotz for his dedication to not only the youth of New Bedford but also our larger community as a whole. Without Mr. Hockert-Lotz, this program would not have been a possibility. Mr. Hockert-Lotz is an exceptional example of a private businessman with a social conscience who continuously participates, supports, and envisions solutions to many of the issues that face our community. In addition, a thank you must go out to the Weekly Compass and Jim Butler for his participation in the workshops as well as the coverage he provided through the paper itself. We all look forward to the 2006 Domino’s Summer of Success. 01/02/05 12/14/04 04/19/04 03/14/04 Distinguished honoree Southeastern Massachusetts Manufacturing Consortium Participating Workforce Investment Boards: Bristol Workforce Investment Board (lead) Brockton Area Workforce Investment Board Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board During the 2004 NAWB Conference Award Recognition Ceremony, the Southeastern Massachusetts Manufacturing Consortium received National Recognition. The Southeastern Massachusetts Manufacturing Consortium (SEMMC) was formed in September 2001 to promote quality incumbent worker training and career development among manufacturers in a region of the Commonwealth that faces workforce challenges related to low skill and low educational attainment. SEMMC serves as an effective model of workforce development and incumbent worker training within an industry-sector initiative that involves multiple Workforce Investment Board regions. Employer-driven, the Consortium includes five business-led committees that set the agenda for needs analysis, program design, procurement, curriculum content, and delivery of five training tracks. Program decisions are made by an inclusive Executive Steering Committee made up of senior representatives from all stakeholders groups, including organized labor unions. SEMMC has trained more than 1,000 workers, reduced turnover by 5% across Partner companies, and secured over $1 milliion in funding through in-kind matching and grant awards. A significant achievement was the Consortium's ability to train workers in skills critical to the increasingly complex and knowledge-driven, high-tech manufacturing workplace. In the short term, this initiative has positioned Consortium members to be better prepared for economic changes and enabled cross-sharing of ideas and solutions while developing integrated employment opportunities, improving higher education curricula, and forging valuable relationships with One-Stop Career Centers. For more information about the Bristol WIB contact Pat Auerbach BristolREB@aol.com, Executive Director, at 508-675-1165 (press 1). For more information about Brockton Area WIB contact Salvatore Pina SPina@bawib.org, Executive Director, at 508-584-3234. For more information about the Greater New Bedford WIB contact Len Coriaty LCoriaty@gnbwib.org, Executive Director, at 508-979-1504, ext. 12. For more information about the National Association Workforce Board www.NAWB.org.
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