The Job Connection offers employment success
Number of placements, wage rates increase in
2007
SEATTLE—March 5, 2008—The
Job Connection, Seattle Housing Authority's job placement and career
development service, is showing consistent improvement in helping
residents find new jobs and advance in their current jobs.
A recent report shows that
The Job Connection succeeded
in securing 242 job placements for residents last year. At the
same time, the average hourly wage for these placements
increased by six percent, from $11.70 to $12.39 per
hour. Most placements were for full time work, and most
(83 percent) included benefits.
"Because employment is such a critical
factor for helping residents to gain
self-sufficiency, The Job Connection plays an important
role in fostering success," notes Laura Lakings-Becvar, manager of
the program.
Sometimes the services offered by
the staff are as simple as help with a resume or advice on where to
apply for a job. Other times, The Job Connection works with their
clients over several months, assessing their job skills, practicing
interview techniques and researching job possibilities. Staff of The
Job Connection also cultivate relationships with area employers so
that they can refer clients to them.
Success for Dan Goodman and
Christina White
 Dan
Goodman was unemployed for three years after the gas station where
he worked closed down. A resident of SHA's Lake City House, he heard
about The Job Connection and decided to give it a shot. He had
competed his GED and was looking for steady employment.
Larry Hill, a counselor with The
Job Connection, suggested that he try pest control. Goodman
interviewed with Seattle Housing Authority's pest control program
and began working. "I was just happy to get the job," he said. "I've
been doing really well at it. I got my pest control license earlier
than I was supposed to."
Adjusting to the job has not always
been easy, however. "I really enjoy working with bugs ... now," he
says. "I went on a job at a high-rise apartment building where a
woman who didn't speak much English wouldn't let us in. Then, we
showed her the picture of a cockroach on the side of our bait
bottle. She immediately let us in then!"
When Goodman saw the cockroach
infestation in the woman's apartment he reports that he screamed.
"My partner told me, 'It kind of scares people when you do that."
Gradually, Goodman has gotten accustomed to such uncomfortable
situations.
Christina White used the services
of The Job Connection's West Seattle office to help her land a
position as a case manager with the Congregation for the Homeless in
Bellevue. "I would never have succeeded so quickly without the help
of The Job Connection," she says.
White took advantage of services to
help her improve her resume and hone her interview skills. Once she
identified the Congregation for the Homeless as a company she was
interested in, she applied for a position using her new resume. Her
training paid off, and she was hired in August 2007. In her new job
she helps residents in transitional housing locate the services they
need and learn skills that can put them on the road to
self-sufficiency.
Learn more about The Job Connection.
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