Montco Career Connections

MontcoWorks NOW participants attended a program hosted by the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit's (MCIU) Environmental Mobile Unit (EMU). The day started with a visit to the River Front Park in Bridgeport for a Creek Critters Investigation. Participants were able to look for and gather macroinvertebrates, discuss clean water concepts , do a turbidity test to see how clear the water is and run a full contingency of tests for things to look for in clean water. After the creek visit, the group discussed employment opportunities in different fields including environmental testing, water management, recycling, environmental conservation, agriculture, drones, manual labor, sales, supervisory work, hands on workers, laboratories, corporations and customer service.

This June, Daniel Chominski and Kendall Glouner-Zeamer hosted 19 educators from schools across Montgomery County for our Teacher in the Workplace program. Over four days, teachers were able to visit eight different workplaces in the public service industry. These workshops were funded by the PA Business/Education Partnership grant which is an initiative to connect educators with professionals across various industries to deepen their understanding of different careers and workplace environments.

Our educators visited Judge Hakim Jones at District Court 38-1-16, the Upper Merion Police Department, The Norristown Fire Company, the Sheriff's Office, the Human Services Building, the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, PECO and the North Penn Water Authority. We are very grateful to each of the organizations that hosted our educators. They imparted very valuable knowledge that our educators can take back to their classrooms to share with their students.

Three MontcoWorks NOW participants, Victoria, Dessiah and Bobby were presented with the MontcoWorks Achievement Award from the Montgomery County Workforce Development Board. This award celebrates the dedication and commitment these youth showed while working to build a meaningful career path. We are so PROUD of their work in the program and in their careers.

In July we were joined by two representatives from Fulton Bank to provide a financial literacy workshop for our MontcoWorks NOW participants. They covered budgeting, car buying, renting and more. Finances and work go hand in hand. It is important for us to be able to work with youth to ensure they are fiscally responsible, especially our youth who are receiving their first ever paychecks. Both the participants and staff learned some valuable information during the presentation.

MontcoWorks NOW participants were invited to New Client Orientation hosted by our Career Counselor Danielle. They took an in depth look at what the program offers and learned some stress and time management tools to assist them in life and work. After the presentation, participants were treated to a pizza lunch and were able to connect with each other and the MWN team.

MontcoWorks NOW Team members and participants toured the Chadwick Optical facility in Schwenksville this August. Chadwick Optical manufactures low-vision lenses and glasses for their customers. We got to see their process of preparing glasses starting with creating the lens all the way to packaging and sending the product out to the consumers. We also heard about roles like marketing and supply management. Thanks to the Chadwick Optical team for inviting us out to their space and highlighting a unique manufacturing company in Montgomery County.

The MontcoWorks★NOW program provides a variety of career exploration activities to help youth and young adults make informed decisions regarding employment opportunities. Our Developer of Workforce Partnerships, Sara Hudson, connects our participants to job shadowing opportunities with local employers. Job shadows provide the participants with an opportunity to accompany a professional during their workday. They get the chance to observe and have a better understanding of a specific career.

Learn about some of the awesome experiences we have facilitated recently:

• Jaden completed a job shadow with R&M Construction.

Thanks to Sara and our worksite partners for making these experiences happen!

This summer we connected 29 young adults to internships across Montgomery County through the Real-World Internship Skills & Experiences Program (RISE). These experiences provide a valuable hands on learning opportunity to youth whether they are just starting to determine a career path or they are about to graduate college and enter the workforce.

We've received some incredible feedback from our interns this summer. Mehki was placed with Open Tier Systems. He shared that the RISE program is "proof that communities and businesses can build a better tomorrow." He also writes: "the experience gave me a huge new perspective; it felt like finding the missing piece of the puzzle that guides me through my career journey."

Gia (pictured below) interned at MillerKnoll Inc in their metal shop department. While onsite he completed 8 different projects and shared a presentation highlighting 3 key projects with their team.

We are beyond grateful to every employer that hosted an intern at their company this summer!

Paid work experiences (PWEs) are one of the fourteen program elements outlined in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act guidelines and a highlight of the MontcoWorks NOW Program. Many of the youth enrolling in our program have limited prior work experience or are looking to gain hands on experience in their desired career field to make sure it is a good fit. We are so lucky to work with local employers who have the capacity to not only host our participants, but also provide a direct hire employment opportunity after the PWE ends. We wanted to highlight some of the PWEs that lead to employment for our youth.

• Teagan started a PWE at Expressive Path in October 2024. The experience was extended multiple times until a paid position was available, and they hired him directly.
• Jordan was in a PWE with Play N Learn as a Teacher's Assistant starting in November 2024. She enjoyed the experience and was able to continue working there as a member of their team when her PWE ended in June.
• Anthony started his PWE with Habitat for Humanity ReStore in November 2024. After working with their team for 6 months through our program, he was offered a direct hire position.
• Trey was hired by the Norristown Public Works department after completing a successful PWE with their team. He recently shared that he was their Employee of the Month for June.

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:

• Noah is working with the team at Iron Mountain as an Imaging Specialist.
• Teagan started direct hire employment with Nothing Bundt Cakes as a froster.

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.

• Xavier started his PWE with Sparks Electric.

• Cameron started a PWE with the Birches in Harleysville.

• Aniyah is completing a PWE with the Madden School

• Juviny is in a PWE with the Blessing Shop.

• Shania is in a PWE with Better Tomorrows.

• Shannon is completing a PWE with All Good Pets Inc.

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 quotes below from Terrell, Naji, Shannon and Hailey who are 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 spent the summer connecting with potential youth participants and employer partners through information sessions and events.

At the start of the school year, the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU) hosts their annual Opening Day celebration to gather staff together before the start of the new school year. MCIU team member Brandon Langer hosted a Fireside Chat that our very own Daniel Chominski was a part of. He represented the work being done through our College and Career Readiness programs at the MCIU.

Our Administrative Assistant, Megan Hockenbrock, was presented with the Bill Bainbridge Award. This award is given to an outstanding member of the MCIU's support staff- someone who consistently goes above and beyond to make a difference at the MCIU.