Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Access to Good Works

…for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit…
(Ephesians 2:18)

I am learning the hard way to choose my words carefully: People hear what they want to hear. I made the mistake of making a general statement, that when heard by someone who did not want to receive the message, applied one broad statement to a whole population. My takeaway is that people often forget that they benefit and have access to opportunities simply because they were born or live under what society has normalized.

The word privilege sometimes has a negative connotation. The reality is that some groups do have certain advantages from membership in a specific social class. Personally, if I remove the most well-known thoughts of privilege (sex and race), in America, I benefit because I am

Right handed vs. left handed
Married vs. single / divorced
Christian vs. all other religions
Heterosexual vs. LBGPQA
Children vs. childless
Formally educated vs. informal
English speaking vs. other languages
Employed vs. unemployed
Aged +18<65 vs. under 18 or over 65
Full able body vs. differently-able body
To learn more, visit http://jpfarr.com/presentations/

Workforce is a new skill for me. My experience in job training was derived from internal employer sponsored programs. I am gaining a crash course in diversity and perspectives on how people gain access to alternative training programs available to the general job-seeking public. From the crowd who does not realize how privilege grants them access, I often hear spiteful comments about people looking for “free stuff.” The reality is that prospects looking to re-tool or re-train are not looking for a “handout, but a hand up,” to the same opportunities available to the privileged class.

I tend to view processes from my perspective and personal experiences, without thinking of access from the perspective of those who do not share the same privileges that I have. I am looking for a paradigm shift in how to help more people gain access to available training. In an attempt to produce better outcomes from our programs, I challenged myself to consider how to overcome some process obstacles from the perspective of my non-privileged status. For example, how could I find out about training opportunities if I did not have home Wi-Fi, or access to the internet, or a computer? Or how could I apply for a job if the applications (paper or electronic) are available in English only? Or how would I perform on a mechanical agility test if I were left handed?

My personal learning in workforce development has become a humbling experiment in not projecting my experiences onto anyone else. As hard or different as I thought my journey has been, I never realized how much access and privilege I have had simply because of membership into specific social classes. How are you improving access to training and job opportunities for the diverse populations in your community? Feel free to comment or send me an email to latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Profit for Good Works

For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world 
and loses or forfeits himself?
(Luke 9:25)

I have a hard time believing that an organization can operate as profit motivated AND be genuinely committed to helping people and changing lives. As the saying goes, you cannot serve two masters. Devotion to one will take priority over the other because of human nature. If you disagree, I challenge you to educate me on an organization that has managed to do both, effectively helping the intended benefactors.

My experiences in workforce readiness have exposed me to a lot of generational poverty phenomena that I never knew existed. I thought that since I grew up poor, I had a baseline understanding of “the struggle,” that would allow my current middle class situation to be a bridge to inspire others of what they too could achieve. Wrong! My first mistake was not having a real understanding of the differences between poor and poverty. I thought we were poor because although my parents worked, there was never enough to cover our wants, so we always heard our parents praying for us to do/have better (education, jobs, homes, etc). The difference is that people living in poverty do not have the luxury to hope for tomorrow because they are trying to overcome basic needs (food, clothes, shelter, etc.) today. For a better explanation, visit http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-poor-and-vs-poverty-and-vs-scarcity/.

Living in the mid-south, I have become mindful of the economy driven by the poverty industry. I started paying attention after I was sarcastically informed that while agriculture and transportation/distribution are both leading industries, a close third is the poverty industry. While many people are quick to point out the profit margins from payday lenders, pawn shops, casinos, and lotteries, has any one questioned the motivation of many of the so-called not-for-profit organizations? In my opinion, I have seen a lot of government funded programs, written on the back of poor people, where the resources are not directly disseminated to the intended benefactors.

As I go about my purposed work, I find myself getting frustrated in trying to do the right things in workforce preparedness, but constantly battling bureaucracy that does nothing to help overcome generational poverty dynamics. This work is not as simple as merely providing training and helping people to find good works, or better jobs. There is a societal disruption out there waiting to be examined and executed. Can you help me to discover it? So I ask the same question that I posed earlier. Are there any examples of profit motivated companies genuinely affecting change to pull whole communities out of poverty? Feel free to comment or send me an email to latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Reconnect to Good Works


Most of my professional career, I have benefited from hiring students from tech schools, without actually visiting one. For the past two decades, many of the industrial technicians or maintenance personnel were graduates of programs like Ivy Tech, Augusta Tech, or Rosedale Tech. While participating in Leadership Beaumont, I briefly toured the welding program at Lamar Institute of Technology. Not until I became actively involved in workforce readiness did I take the time to get a holistic view of what today’s tech schools offer. This is not your 80s variety vocational training program…
Growing up, the closest post-secondary school in the county was the Rice Belt Technical Institute. The only people that I personally knew went for secretarial training. None of the graduates from my family ever gained employment using those skills, so I never even considered the school as an option for me.
Fast-forward to my first tour of modern-day workforce development training and I visited one of the local Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) campuses. The purpose of the visit was to understand the regional best practice for effective adult education that leads to real employment and advancement opportunities. The full-time programs range from twelve to twenty months to complete. The format is meant to simulate an actual workday, so students receive both classroom and hands on training, often dressed in uniformed attire.

The initial topic of connection that struck me was the cost. Between financial aid, the Tennessee Reconnect (http://tnreconnect.gov/), or the Tennessee Promise (http://tnpromise.gov/), most students can complete these program without building up long term debt related to loans. This model proves that retraining efforts are within reach for adults willing to commit the time to earn the certifications.
Walking through the various programs, another area of connection was the engagement of the instructors. Each was working alongside the students, demonstrating applied knowledge of the subject. When we walked through the diesel maintenance shop, the instructor was underneath the frame, but slid out to share information about student successes, employment opportunities, salaries, and his program’s wait list (there is a huge demand for his graduates, a testament to the workmanship he is instilling in his students). Unique to the TCAT model, instructors are incentivized by their program placement rates.
TCAT offers a wide range of technical career programs. To learn the details of the full-time courses offered in the Memphis area, visit http://tcatmemphis.edu/fulltime-programs. I suggest exploring the program details to learn about the contact hours, potential certifications granted, and most importantly, the gainful employment information. Since I was so impressed by the diesel technology program, here are the linked examples of the kind of data you will find:
Be sure to click on the red consumer information tab, which provides details about the SOC Code, program success rates, and job placement rates. A 92% placement rate is best-in-class in my book!
I know the quality of the students and the value of this type of education from a professional perspective. As a parent, a real test for me will be how I feel about technical training programs personally if our son comes home and informs us that he has chosen this route to pursue his career goals, rather than going to a four-year college. What are your thoughts on the career opportunities afforded from technical certification programs? Feel free to comment or send me an email to latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Harvest Season & Good Works

The harvest is plentiful,
but the laborers are few.
(Matthew 9:37)

I attended a neighborhood block party in my hometown last Sunday. New Edition Day began in 2011 as a gathering of family and friends who lived and supported each other in our small community on the northeast side of town. It's hard to imagine 500 people in such a tiny area until you experience it for yourself. I saw many faces that I had not seen in 30 years. And for all the people who live in town and those who came home specifically for the weekend celebration, there were noticeable people missing: those who currently work in the rice operations supply chain. Why were those workers not present for the Sunday before Labor Day fellowship? In common local terms, it's harvest season.

On Tuesday, I toured a high volume assembly plant. Our guide explained that the operation was just beginning harvest season. Confused, because I equated harvest with agricultural industries, I asked her to explain harvest season. She shared that it's another way of saying peak season, that time of year when they ramp up production to meet the expected demand and orders related to retail shopping season. Out of curiosity, I began to research the connotation and various meanings of harvest season.

Apparently, harvest season is a term that relates back to the plantation economy, tied to mass production in agriculture. Historically, plantation crops included cotton, rubber, sugar cane, tobacco, figs, rice, kapok, sisal, and indigo. The longer a crop's harvest period, the more efficient plantations were (Boundless, 2015). Fast forward to the modern day use of the phrase, it has application in high volume production environments. In labor intensive operations, the additional labor hours required are covered by excessive overtime and temporary workers.

I am beginning to understand how the plantation economy and mindset still affects workforce readiness in the Mid-South. We have work to do to overcome generational deficits in workplace preparedness. Understanding that the shift from an agriculture economy to an industrial economy to the high-tech economy requires a paradigm shift at how we train and motivate the most important piece that impacts productivity and profitability: the direct labor. If not, we shall continue down the path of the more things change, the more things remain the same. What innovative or technology solutions are you introducing in your labor intensive operations during your harvest season? Feel free to comment or send me an email to latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.


Source: Boundless. “The Plantation Economy and the Planter Class.” Boundless U.S. History. Boundless, 21 Jul. 2015. Retrieved 11 Sep. 2015 from https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-s-history-textbook/slavery-and-reform-1820-1840-16/the-old-south-121/the-plantation-economy-and-the-planter-class-645-6993/

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Resources for Good Works

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.
Be inventive in hospitality.
(Romans 12:13)

I had one of those weeks where I submitted a monthly report that was underwhelming for me to publish. We had a lot of meetings last month that produced a lot of narratives. When I read over the document, there were a lot of “fixin’ to’s,” but very few, if any, quantifiable metrics. To know me is to know that I am process and goal driven. I must be able to report measurable progress of my works and activities over time. My immediate prayer: while working in the workforce readiness environment, please help me to never lose focus on the necessity to deliver a corporate solution.

In full disclosure, I did not come to that prayer request on my own. Shortly after pressing the send button to forward the progress report, I participated in a conference call. The topic of discussion was learning more of the best practices of other career readiness and workforce development program successes through the deployment of employer resource networks (ERN).

The primary goal of an ERN is to provide a cost-effective solution to reduce turnover and to improve productivity for the employers. The program especially targets the workforce who are employed, or underemployed, where life situations happen that mean the difference between getting to or staying at work, versus having to miss a day of work to resolve potential crises. ERNs are not benevolent programs or gifts. The model is designed so that “success coaches” are available in the workplace to guide employees to resources so that they do not have to miss work. The employer benefits by proactively investing in an on-site person who knows the local community services, preventing the supervisor or human resources staff from dealing with these matters. My take-away from the meeting was that productivity programs like ERNs must be treated like corporate initiatives, where the potential benefactors, employers, must pay-to-play and expect a measurable return on investment. To learn more about successful regional employer resource networks, visit http://schenectadyworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/West-Michigan-Team-ERN-Overview.pdf or http://www.ern-ny.com/.

On my drive home, I thought about the activities that we are engaged in and asked myself to answer the questions I challenge our team to consider everyday: What product or service do we provide that our customers/clients/partners are willing to pay a subscription or service fee to receive? How do we quantify that value? If we cannot clearly articulate measurable solutions in a monthly progress report, what good are we…? Our September time resources will be allocated differently and more effectively.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked for examples of what other communities are doing to meet the needs of job seekers that address generational deficits in finding gainful employment. The ERN model is a purposed solution for removing barriers that impact an employers’ productivity and profitability. Could you get the corporations in your community to buy into and deploy a proven pay-to-play resource? Feel free to comment or send me an email to latanyua.robinson@gmail.com.If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.