Montco Career Connections

Through the PAsmart initiative, we have been working with our local career and technical education (CTE) schools to expand opportunities for students in their welding, electrical and robotics programs. Students have benefitted as their programs become certified pre-apprenticeships. Through the grant, we have been able to provide students with valuable tools for their training like work boots, welding helmets and electrical tool kits. Students have been able to gain certifications like OSHA and NCCER. Most recently students have gotten to take a tour at local employer Dana Inc. This was a great opportunity for the students to see how their training can translate to a career. We are grateful to be able to provide these resources and experiences to our students.

The MontcoWorks★NOW (MWN) team encourages our clients to consider taking courses to expand skill sets and knowledge that help obtain employment. We are proud to share some incredible updates below:

• Kenneth, Sean and Juviny have all passed their second Welding course at North Montco Technical Career Center and are now looking for jobs in the welding field.
• Destini graduated from Main Line Health's Medical Assistant program and secured employment with one of their OBGYN offices.
• Zalia completed her training at North Montco Technical Career Center as well as an externship with Patient First. She is officially certified as an EKG Technician.
• Cameron B. is taking classes at the Montgomery County Community College.
• Sophia started her dental assistant program at the Contemporary Health Career Institute.

We are so impressed by the hard work our MWN clients put in every day to learn new skills that they can add to their resumes.

The MWN Career Counselors work together with their clients to support them with their career goals which includes working to find employment opportunities. We are so proud of our clients that are working all throughout Montgomery County filling roles in all types of career fields. Check out some of the awesome jobs our clients were hired for:

• Nehemiah is working for the team at FedEx.
• Caitlyn is working with the team at Showcase.

We are proud to share some amazing accomplishments by our youth recently. They work hard everyday to reach their goals, and we hope this inspires you to do the same.

• Xavier completed all his GED exams to earn his Commonwealth Diploma.
• Sylest has been accepted into Kutztown University, Neuman University and Manhattan University. Her top choice is Manhattan University where she would be studying early childhood education and special education with a psychology concentration.
• Angelica made the honor role at school this marking period and was highlighted as Teacher of the Month in the Spinghouse Early Learning Center newsletter.
• Josh L graduated from Norristown High School in January.

The MWN team works with over 100 worksite partners to connect MWN participants to a paid work experience (PWE). See below for current clients who are placed at organizations throughout Montgomery County.

• Sebastian is doing his PWE with Sparks Electric.

• Cameron H. is doing her PWE with Keller Williams Real Estate.

• Danny is doing his PWE with Lady T's Southern Cuisine as a dishwasher and food prep assistant.

• Francis is doing a PWE with CVS as a front end associate.

• Andy started a PWE with Russell Roofing.

• Amir will be starting his PWE at Lundale Farm with Trellis for Tomorrow.

PWE's are a great opportunity to gain experience in the participant's field of choice and to learn if that career path is to their liking. We appreciate all of worksite partners and are excited to support so many unique work opportunities for MWN participants.

The MontcoWorks★NOW Inspiration Station provides an opportunity for our participants to share how they have been impacted by our program. Our team is passionate and committed to supporting youth as they navigate the workforce world. We often share client success stories but thought you would LOVE to hear from our participants directly. The MWN program provides amazing opportunities and each youth sets their individuals goals to achieve during their time in programming. Check out our quote below from Kamirah who is doing amazing things in the workforce. Just a reminder to never give up!

The MontcoWorks★NOW team works hard to stay connected with our community and stay up to date on the best practices that will help us serve our MWN participants. Recruitment and engagement are important parts of our program. We are always connecting with youth and potential partners at job fairs, schools, events and more.

In February, the team visited with MCIU Head Start programs across the county to speak with parents of the students in these programs. We are working to expand our reach to young parents in the community and to spread information about our program so parents can learn more about our services for their children. Sara attended the Bean Bag Food program community event in Souderton on Valentines Day to connect families to MWN.

Daniel and Kendall collaborated together to host a review session for PA's Career Education and Work Standards. They brought together educators across the county to collaborate on ways to implement these new standards. We also kicked off our final year of the RISE summer intern program with a whopping 160 applicants.