Island Harvest Meals Financial institution’s Workforce Expertise Improvement Institute in Melville lately graduated its fourth class of scholars.
Addressing the workforce wants of native workers, the institute helps trainees acquire abilities in warehousing and stock management. This system is designed in order that those that are unemployed, underemployed or underskilled can attain jobs and financial stability, in addition to meals safety.
The institute, which has graduated 42 college students since its inception in January of 2023, is an instance of how meals banks can handle root causes of starvation and meals insecurity.
“Distributing meals to assist people who find themselves meals insecure is a short-term answer to the continuing starvation disaster in America,” Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of Island Harvest, mentioned in a information launch about the newest commencement.
“We’re taking a holistic strategy in addressing one of many root causes of starvation and meals insecurity by offering people who find themselves unemployed, or in some circumstances underemployed, with the talents essential to discover a job that pays a sustaining wage that helps themselves and their households,” she mentioned.
Up to now, 60% of the inaugural class has obtained full-time employment, in accordance with Island Harvest.
The curriculum contains coaching and certifications in technical warehousing and mushy abilities that assist success within the office. Combining job-specific technical proficiency and contextualized employability abilities, this system permits trainees to earn six credentials by commencement to equip them with precious ready-to-offer abilities to a potential employer.
College students obtain in-house assist and wrap-around companies – together with wage, transportation, and childcare stipends to deal with boundaries to program participation and completion – in addition to weekly profession teaching throughout coaching and one 12 months post-graduation. These companies assist foster the flexibility to finish this system. This graduating class joins the one earlier than it in reaching 100% completion.
Jawan Davenport graduated within the fall of 2023 and now serves as a meals service affiliate at Northwell Well being.
“I didn’t have a lot to supply once I got here to this system however discovered lots and left with a lot to be pleased with like my OSHA and Meals Security certifications,” Davenport mentioned within the information launch. “Being in this system allowed me to study and get what I wanted to be ready for alternatives once they got here, like my job at Northwell Well being.”
Maria Arianas, chief workforce improvement officer at Island Harvest, mentioned within the information launch that the institute “affords our trainees a secure area to study and develop, bringing collectively a variety of coaching and assist companies that present them with the talents basis to enter, re-enter, or transfer up within the workforce.”
Working with native enterprise companions, Island Harvest goals to know the job market to stay present with employment tendencies and the wants of employers, and to create connections to employment alternatives. Its checklist of employer companions has tripled because the program’s inception, in accordance with the meals financial institution.
The meals financial institution recruits candidates for its Workforce Expertise Improvement Institute from numerous sources, together with the New York State Division of Labor, the Nassau and Suffolk County One-Cease Profession Facilities, the Departments of Social Providers in each counties, native nonprofit human service organizations, and the meals banks community of member companies throughout Lengthy Island.