Workforce Readiness

*Link: 1ST JOB LINCOLN PAGE*

PURPOSE:

The Workforce Readiness Committee focuses on initiatives that make an impact in the Lincoln community by being a resource to HR professionals and employers as well as helping people of all ages prepare for today’s challenging workforce needs.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Consistently attend WRC meetings (usually held monthly; approx. 1 ½ hours in length).
  •  Actively participate in the development, planning, and implementation of WRC initiatives, such as 1st Job-Lincoln.
  • Attend and participate in special events sponsored by WRC (e.g., job fairs, mock interviews, and other activities associated with WRC initiatives).
  • Assist LHRMA with developing ideas for chapter meetings to create awareness and provide education and other advocacy assistance in the area of workforce readiness.
  • Complete other assignments as requested by the WRC Chair.

RECENT INITIATIVES:

1st Job-Lincoln (2013 – current)

In 2013, the Workforce Readiness Committee (WRC) piloted an initiative called “1st Job-Lincoln,” which provides paid summer internship opportunities to Lincoln high school youth in the information technology field. The two primary goals are to: (1) help prepare a foundation for youth who are seeking a career in this field, and (2) provide employers an opportunity to seek out qualified candidates for future employment needs. 1st Job-Lincoln seeks out “Champion Employers” who “champion the way” for our community’s youth to access a professional, on-the-job experience at an early age.

 Since its pilot inauguration, 1st Job-Lincoln has provided job coaching to over 100 high school students who participated in our program. We have engaged stakeholders that positioned us
to work with 24 different employers in our community. This has resulted in the employment
of 43 high school students in paid, professional IT internship settings. 

The WRC works closely with both participating students and Champion Employers before and during the internship experience to ensure students are well prepared to enter the job site and to assist the Champion Employers with any concerns or challenges encountered during the students’ summer employment. Each participating student is required to partake in a formal workforce preparedness program designed and delivered by human resource/other workforce professionals to create awareness in the students of the importance of attitude, appearance, and accountability in their work as an applicant and intern. This also includes technical assistance with job application preparation (cover letter, resume, application), mock interviews, and preparing to attend a job fair that is sponsored by the WRC. While the goal is that every interested student will receive an interview to gain that real-life experience, this is also meant to be a competitive process for selection of interns by the Champion Employers.

1st Job-Lincoln wants to give students the opportunity to experience hands-on learning, while also giving our local employers benefits, which include:

  • Demonstrating career opportunities to our youth as well as an economic reason to stay, learn, and work in Nebraska.
  • Impacting the education of our community’s youth through the natural “career counseling” that takes place during the internships.
  • Students generate fresh, new ideas for their employers.
  • Being recognized for their involvement and participation in an innovative initiative that develops and maintains a vibrant workforce that drives the economic future of our community.

Like us on Facebook to view our journal of program activities at: (https://www.facebook.com/1stJobLincoln),

RESOURCES:

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Members of the Workforce Readiness Committee are currently involved with many activities associated with our 1st Job-Lincoln initiative. Members can expect to have activities assigned (outside of monthly committee meetings) that span a majority of the calendar year. This includes brainstorming ways to continually improve the program and participating in special events: job coaching activities such as resume assistance, mock interviews, how to apply for a job; sponsoring a job fair; working with community employers (Champion Employers) and high school students; and ending with a “Celebration Event” to recognize participating employers and interns. We strive to have an active on-line presence with our 1st Job-Lincoln Facebook page and other information that needs to be kept updated on LHRMA’s website. Critical to the success of 1st Job-Lincoln is our collaborative work and relationship-building with community stakeholders, such as the new Career Academy, the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development, and the Greater Lincoln Workforce Development Board.

Workforce Readiness Committee members for 2017-2018:
Robbie Seybert, Chair
Susan Becker
Cindy Heider Kaliff
Marguerite Himmelberg
Midge Pace
Toni Simons
Jill Watkins

Community Partners
Dan Hohensee, The Career Academy
Jan Norlander-Jensen, Greater Lincoln Workforce Development Board
Rachel Placzek, Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development

CONTACT THE COMMITTEE CHAIR:
                                                                                                                                                           

Are you interested in volunteering on the Workforce Readiness Committee?

Do you have questions we can help with?

Contact the Workforce Readiness Chair at robbieseybert07@gmail.com.

Upcoming Events

Jul
2
Mon
all-day LHRMA Electronic Board Meeting
LHRMA Electronic Board Meeting
Jul 2 – Jul 6 all-day
LHRMA Electronic Board MeetingFacebookGoogle+LinkedinTwitteremailPrint
Jul
10
Tue
11:00 am July Lunch & Workshop Program
July Lunch & Workshop Program
Jul 10 @ 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
July Lunch & Workshop Program @ Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel | Lincoln | Nebraska | United States
July Program Lunch Begins: 11:30am Workshop: 12:00pm-3:00pm Venue: The Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel 333 S 13th St, Lincoln, NE 68508 Cost Members: $75 total – Includes Lunch & Workshop. Non-Members: $100 total – Includes Lunch & Workshop plus a LHRMA Membership from July 2018-December 2018. Credits: 3 General Credits for SHRM are approved 3 HRCI Credits are pending approval Topic: Unconscious Bias GOT BIAS? Understanding the New Science of Bias Much of what is said and done in the name of diversity and inclusion today is, unfortunately, based on an antiquated and flawed paradigm. We stubbornly cling to the idea that there are generally two groups of people in the world; there are “good people,” who are open-minded, nonjudgmental and free of bias, and then there are “bad people,” who are closed-minded, judgmental and dripping with bias. This conveniently leaves most of us completely out of the conversation regarding bias; as long as I am a “good person,” I don’t have any work to do, beyond helping to point out the bad ones…who clearly need to be “fixed.” We know enough today about human beings, specifically the human brain, to know that there is no such thing as a nonjudgmental human being. We are naturally and even automatically judgmental, there is no hatred or fear required. Bias is not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing, it is simply a true thing, and only becomes a problem when we convince ourselves it is not there. Having an accurate understanding of what bias is and where it comes from, allows us to do something about it, to make sure that we are mitigating its impact on our decisions and interactions. This is an interactive, information-rich and incredibly actionable message. Key takeaways: Understand what bias, and unconscious (or implicit) bias are. Be introduced to research from the fields of social psychology, behavioral economics and neuroscience regarding the source and impacts of unconscious (or implicit) bias. Understand why bias is a natural aspect of the human experience. Understand and explore the ways that unconscious (or implicit) bias can undermine individual and group performance in the workplace. Leave with individual action items that they can immediately incorporate into their work. Be prepared to identify collective opportunities for taking action to reduce the impact of unconscious (or implicit) bias. Leave with resources to support additional learning, sharing and action relative to mitigating the impact of unconscious (or implicit) bias.   Speaker Bio: Joe Gerstandt is a speaker, author and advisor bringing greater clarity, action, and impact to organizational diversity and inclusion efforts. Joe has worked with Fortune 100 corporations, small non-profits, and everything in between. He speaks at numerous conferences and summits, and blogs at joegerstandt.com. He is a featured contributor for the Workforce Diversity Network Expert Forum and his insights have been published in Diversity Best Practices, Diversity Executive, HR Executive, The Diversity Factor, The American Diversity Report, the Corporate Recruiting Leadership Journal, Associations Now, other print and on-line journals and he co-authored the book Social Gravity: Harnessing the Natural Laws of Relationships. Joe grew up on a family farm in NW Iowa, served four years in the United States Marine Corps, including participation in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, attended Iowa State University and then spent 6 years working in management and business development for technology and communication companies. He then made a career change and went to work for a grassroots non-profit organization, and this is where he found himself drawn to issues related to diversity and inclusion and then became actively involved in that work. Today, Joe believes that we can ill afford to continue applying a 20th century approach to an increasingly critical set of 21st century issues. A strong advocate for resetting the diversity and inclusion conversation, Joe sees diversity and inclusion as poorly understood and often misunderstood. His keynote messages and interactive workshops bring greater clarity, action, and impact to existing and new organizational diversity & inclusion efforts.  Joe Gerstandt “Bias” Video – Introduction   FacebookGoogle+LinkedinTwitteremailPrint
Aug
8
Wed
all-day LHRMA Board Meeting
LHRMA Board Meeting
Aug 8 all-day
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LHRMA News

Legislative Director Update 5/24/18
Posted on: May 30, 2018
Legislative Director Update 3/16/18
Posted on: Mar 22, 2018
Legislative Director Update 3/9/18
Posted on: Mar 12, 2018

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