Advocacy and Literacy in Workforce Development: Addressing Barriers for Employment Opportunities

Charity Embley

Instructor – Goodwill Industries of Northwest Texas | Lubbock | cembley@lubbockgoodwill.org

Website: http://goodwillnwtexas.org/

Graduate Student Curriculum & Instruction | Developmental Literacy | charity.g.embley@ttu.edu

Workforce Development

What is Workforce

Development?Economic development

Focuses on PEOPLE rather businesses

Strategies used are based on a demand for

specific skills and what the market is in need for

Specific Strategies

Networking with other organizations (i.e. South

Plains Workforce Solutions)

Partnerships with private businesses/enterprise

Barriers

Dislocated worker (lost/left his or her job because the company closed, laid off or terminated)

Long time unemployment

Illiteracy

Low income

Public assistance recipients

At-risk youth (including youth with learning disabilities)

Teen parent

Displaced homemaker

Homeless

Immigrants

School dropout

Ex-offender

How do we ADVOCATE and PROMOTE LITERACY in order to address barriers in employment?

Workforce Development

Advocacy

Sector-based

Approach

Literacy

Placed-based

Approach

Common Scenarios

“I am not cleaning floors for the rest of my life…”

“I am not as young as I was so I could not stand on my feet for a long time…so I want a desk job…”

“My supervisor wants me to upgrade my skills with computer training so I could get promoted…”

“I need to learn how to do a lot of things at the same time…my grandchildren are better with computers than I am…”

“ I have been out of school for so long I don’t know where to start…but I need a job..”

“I have been locked up for 15 years…would anybody want to hire me at all?”

Sector-based Approach

What is Sector-based

Approach?Considers what individuals will be hired

Targets a specific industry and population

Outreach with local businesses, city & county

offices that would hire populations with barriers

Bridge the gap between local businesses, city

and county with the potential employees they

could be hiring

Counsel participants within the program

How do we promote

advocacy in workforce

development?Advertise free services through local media (radio,

television, newspaper and etc)

Educate local business of the services offered

between sector-based and place-based

Invite hiring managers to come in and participate with

the training process

Take participants on field trips to companies that

partners with the organization

Collaborate with the local colleges to educate and

build employment development skills with the

participants

Place-based Approach

What is place-based

approach?Focus is on the community where the training will

take place

Aims in training individuals who might need the

necessary skills to get into the labor market

How do we promote

literacy in workforce

development?Provide basic computer skills (keyboarding, word processing, spreadsheet, presentation application)

Resume development using word processing program

Internet and Emailing skills (job searching, work application correspondence)

GED classes

Career-building skills training/life skills training

Include reading/writing skills development in the computer training

Plan a curriculum that will integrate effective communication skills and computer skills; specifically how to follow instructions, be taught reading strategies, and note taking

Curriculum Development

Advisory entry skills (include intake process)

Student learning outcomes

Course content

Methods of instruction and evaluation

Course materials