aurielp

[aurielp]

My team and I had been working since October completing research and collaborating on how we would provide job opportunities in Wake/Harnett and surrounding communities. So, we were tasked to plan and create a virtual job fair. Our goal was to provide full time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal opportunities for people living in the Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville areas. We identified several challenges with the job fair being virtual such as: marketing, technology, and gaining employers.

We worked diligently to overcome all of the obstacles that were presented to us and made sure that we would not lose sight or our vision of hosting the job fair and providing job’s for resident’s and students within the surrounding area. Due to the ongoing pandemic many people are without a job due to layoffs and the lack of employment opportunities. Many businesses had to close their doors, because they could no longer survive and pay their employers. This resulted in several job layoffs and fewer job options for rural residents.

Our goal was to reach out to several major companies within the area Lowes, Accentuate Staffing, House of Autry, Amazon, and several other businesses. We anticipated having 18 employers participating in the job fair. Each of us divided the businesses contacts and reached out to the businesses inviting them to the job fair. Initially we were able to secure 10 businesses and were ecstatic about doing so.

During the process after securing the businesses we begin to brainstorm and market the job fair. We wanted all residents in Harnett county and the surrounding areas to have the opportunity to participate. So, we marketed the fair on several online platforms, hoping to reach a larger number of people. Our data analytics confirmed this data, over 300 people interacted with our career flyer. Using platforms such as Indeed, Eventbrite, craigslist, Campbell Universities career service department, and Fayetteville State Universities career service department we hoped to gain a large number of participants. Our goal was to at least have 30 people register and attend the job fair.

As the date for the job fair slowly approached, we were faced with an obsolete number of challenges. Several of our businesses stopped communicating with us and were no longer displaying interest in wanting to participate in our job fair. We followed up with the companies and even tried contacting other representatives and still did not hear anything back, so we were left with just 5 businesses for the fair. Although this happened, we did not lose hope, and was determined to have the job fair.

Unfortunately, on the final day of registration my team and our practicum decided it would be best if we cancel the job fair. We were far from our goal of having at least 30 participants and had only 8 registered. To ensure those 8 people still had the opportunity of networking and seeking employment we forward their resumes to the registered businesses for the job fair. Although, we were disappointed that we were unable to host the job fair, we were extremely proud that we could touch 8 peoples lives.

Looking back our group identified ways that we could have improved on to ensure that the job fair would be successful. As a community worker you will be faced with great challenges , and sometimes your goals or visions may not be as successful as you hope. Our practicum experience gave us the opportunity to experience this firsthand. Team Jobs is still committed in providing employment opportunities for rural residents by helping to eliminate barriers and challenges they may face.

[aurielp]

The big day is finally here! My group and I have worked diligently and hard to ensure that the Jobs For Life curriculum is met and participants are able to receive the intended information presented. Fortunately, the church we are working with was able to receive a grant, so participants who do not have technology or internet can still participate in the Jobs For Life Classes.

Having access to technology was a concern of ours in the beginning of working on our practicum, however our facilitators strong faith and belief poured into us. I am a religious person, however my relationship with God is not as strong as I would like for it to be. Working with Hope Ministries and my facilitator Mrs. White has allowed me to search within myself and inspire me to have an optimistic outlook even when things may not seem promising.

Working with Mr. John Wiser and providing him with supplemental materials to enhance his presentation was also fulfilling. Many of the chapters that we worked on had several Christian parables to help participants to relate and see themselves as characters within the bible. Having this information set up like this I thought would be a bit controversial for some participants who are non-believers. But through my work I discovered that the Christian principles can also be interpreted as a motivational principle help encourage others when they may feel like they can’t go any further.

Faith based partnerships are necessary in many rural communities! Due to the fact that many of the residents living within these communities live by faith-based principles. Having a church organization work so closely to help alleviate the burdens of not having an income or a steady income further proves my point that these partnerships are necessary, specifically with assisting those with low socioeconomic statuses.

Hope ministry not only focuses on employment and stability, but also education by providing free-afterschool tutoring to students performing below grade level and offering a food pantry for those with-out food. My practicum group and I also had the opportunity to comes and tour the church campus, and volunteer within the church’s food pantry. Doing so motivated us for today’s big day! Seeing how the church touched so many lives in the community and their ability to face adversity inspired us to continue our work with Jobs For Life. Making it our priority that participants who viewed the Job’s For Life videos’ were inspired and gained the knowledge presented to them by the teachers.

There is so much work that needs to be done about the underemployment and unemployment rate in rural areas. Having workshops and development classes are the first steps to combating this health crisis. Our partnerships with Job’s For Life and work with our practicum facilitator are the first steps in helping residents achieve employment. After successfully completing the course we hope participants will be able to attend job fair’s or interviews with the knowledge and confidence they will receive from our presentation today!

[aurielp]

Partnering with Jobs For Life to help people get back on their feet and get back in the workforce has been one of the most rewarding experiences. Jobs For Life is a faith based organization that focuses on using biblical principles to commit to making positive transformations in the lives of their students and the community. Underemployment and unemployment is a barrier that many rural communities are facing.

In many southern rural communities churches are an

essential part of community outreach, specifically in rural parts of North

Carolina.The organization was established in 1996 and has touched the lives of

many people all over America. By holding weekly workshops/ class sessions held

in churches. At the end of the course students have the opportunity to use the

skills gained from the workshops and market themselves as better employees.

For the past 24 years most of the curriculum at

JBFL has been taught in an in-person setting, however due to COVID-19 and the

current health regulations. However,

Underemployment

and unemployment is still a health crisis that needs to be addressed. Our group

was tasked with assisting the presenter’s, by enhancing their presentation and

providing supplemental material to help engage participants, and allowing them

to better understand the material being presented to them.

The participants in JBFL are typically church

members or members within the community who come from different backgrounds.

Many of these participants have low socioeconomic status due to low levels of

education, lack of income, and housing conditions. While completing this task

our group was challenged to ensure the supplemental material was not too

advanced for participant’s competency level. Typically the course is moderate

paced and in a group setting moderated by the presenter’s so participants have

the opportunity to learn from each other. However, since it is being recorded

for the very first time we wanted to ensure participants would still be able to

get the same experience.

My group members and I partnered with presenters

and split the material amongst one another. We gather lots of information and

presented it to our preceptor. Using new technology and software we were able

to use giphs, graphs, tables, and pictures to better engage our participants.

We believe this first session of recording will be the blue-print for other Jobs For Life classes in the post COVID-19. This will allow Jobs For Life curriculum to be reached by a great number of participants all over the United States of America. My team and I are excited about kicking off the first recordings for the organization. In the future we hope that more organizations partner with Jobs For Life even though they are a faith based organization.

My group and I are eager to help with transforming the lives of many people within the community who are currently without employment. We believe these courses/workshops will give them the motivation and encouragement to get back on their feet and into to the Job industry. Can’t wait for the day of recording to finally see our work come to life #TeamJob’s

[aurielp]

Unemployment rates are at an all-time high due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals have been laid off of furloughed without a return date. Unfortunately, for many rural Americans they are already facing a job shortage, because there aren’t many job opportunities in their areas. My practicum group and I are working diligently to help resident’s get the opportunity to discover jobs using technology.

Unemployment is a socio-economic issue that affect’s a person’s health and ability to survive. Often people who are unemployed are unable to have health insurance. During the climate we are in today health insurance is needed especially with the uncertainty of this virus. Also, unemployment is linked to elevate stress levels and high blood pressure. My group and I are seeking ways we can help bring job opportunities to residents. Partnering with local businesses and employers we are drafting a plan on how to host a virtual job fair!

Our greatest challenge of hosting a job fair while in a pandemic is abiding by safety regulations and hosting a job fair virtually. Some of these residents do not have the funds to have a device with a camera or funds for internet access. We are researching ways in which we can help provide residents with the appropriate technology so that they are able to participate in the job fair we are hosting.

We have contacted several businesses asking for their partnership to host the job fair. We have successfully confirmed 5 businesses to participate in our fair, our goal is to obtain at least 10 more. We hope that participants who attend our job fair come from different backgrounds: having no work experience, having some work experience, or having a lot of work experience. While participating in this job fair we would like for participants to also have the ability to network amongst one another.

Hosting this job fair for virtually will benefit participants, so they do not have to worry about a means of transportation or the tax it will take to get there. To ensure the job fair reaches many attendees we plan to hold breakout sessions, so attendees can meet with several businesses. Also, we plan on allowing participants to have 1 on 1 sessions with employers. The goal for these 1 on 1 sessions is to increase the possibility of possible on the spot employment offers.

We Identified the issue that accessing technology may be difficult for some participants. We have drafted a plan that Hope Ministry will help support a few participants who do not have technology, by allowing them to use the technology at there facility or possibly using a laptop that comes with internet. Also, our second option was to allow participants to call in during the virtual fair so that they will still be able to participate.

Our plan is to advertise the event at the church ministry our group is working with, social media platforms, craigslist, and on the universities career website. The career fair is still in the planning stages, but we have come quiet far since we started. We are gathering data and identifying how others have successfully hosted a job fair.

Rural residents will be able to improve their health, by participating in this job fair. We do understand that there will be some other challenges along the road while creating this job fair, however my group and I are optimistic that we will reach a great number of people!

[aurielp]

Preparing for this weeks meeting with my group. We are preparing to host our virtual career fair. Finding a free platform has been one of the most challenging parts , however I think we may have found a way to find something within our budget. My groups drive and dedication will ensure that Hope ministry vision will come to life , additionally helping unemployed folks with part time & fulltime job is very fulfilling. It’s been awesome working with Mrs.White and her team ! #Blessed #Employed

[aurielp]

Faith based community driven partnerships give people hope. While reviewing the materials for lesson 4 of this week I became inspired myself. The participants within JFLP have the blessing to see characters in the Bible come to life within there own lives. This week my challenge is to find suitable motivational videos to help participants along there journey in life. Religion plays a strong role in many peoples lives , especially in rural communities!

[aurielp]

Visuals , visuals, & more visuals. In today’s society virtual learning is the new normal for a lot of us , but for some face to face learning is critical. Most face to face learning environments allow others to feed off of each other and interpret one another’s body language. JBFL program is an example of an environment that needs the face to face interaction , several participants come from different walks of life & need that face to face interaction as support. My current task is to ensure that the visuals I incorporate into the presentation for these students serve as a substitute for the face to face learning. I am working deligently and hard to ensure participants in this program will receive the best learning experience!

[aurielp]

Last minute changes have happened , but the ball is still rolling. #Flexible I am now over chapters 3,4,9,&14. My direct source of contact for the practicum is a phenomenal gentleman. The topics that we have are apart of the foundation to helping people get back on there feet and get out in work force. Chapter 3 is challenging sense it serves as the cour chapter to overcoming personal issues that can also effect your social issues. My group and I are determined that participants in JBFL program will not only be successful in the work -force , but also in there personal lives.

[aurielp]

#Teamjobs had the pleasure of looking through lesson plans to help participants gain transferable skills for work. We are still in the beginning stages of getting things done ,but I’m highly motivated and eagered to start working !

I’ll be doing lesson’s 9-12. Can’t wait to show some of things I’ll be working on!#careerready.

[aurielp]

Team Jobs met up to begin working on our Master plan. We’re all #Excited about picking our lesson plans!