Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • September 17, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 17 other post-secondary education options. Annually, more than 60 youths are split into two six-month cohorts fund- ed by a three-year, $1.2 million grant from the state labor department and federal initiative AmeriCorps. Outfit- ted with safety equipment, Communi- ty Renewal Team-embroidered jackets and shirts, participants have access to the program's on-site trainers and employer specialist, who helps with resume and interview preparation. Almost all of CRT's construction learners enter the program with little understanding of carpentry before they're trained and linked to job-site internships for 25 hours a week, earn- ing $100 stipends. Employers pay for additional hours. "We offer a lot but we also expect a lot," said CRT Program Manager Cynthia Baisden. "We understand that life happens so let us help you through that." CRT supports participants with any barriers that may curb them from employment opportunities, connect- ing them to transportation, food, clothing or child care services. Elethia Mills earlier this year applied and enrolled in YouthBuild to earn a GED and CNA certification. After just three weeks, the 23-year-old passed her first GED exam and is moving her way through various nursing and construc- tion certification programs and required commu- nity service hours. Mills and Marrero, who have tested sev- eral training pro- grams in the area, said YouthBuild is Hartford's best. Only a short list of Youth- Build enrollees fail to meet the program's require- ments — 94 percent of participants have obtained either a construction or CNA certification. After graduating, participants often return to CRT for career or life advice, Baisden said. "Just because you finished the pro- gram doesn't mean you're done with us," she said. "You are with us for life." A fresh start Among those in the at-risk, untapped popula- tion are ex-of- fenders attempt- ing to re-enter the workforce. Stigmas aside, ex-offenders' job skills often fade during years in prison, but industry experts say many workforce initiatives are available to those currently and for- merly incarcerated. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who has focused on easing nonviolent offend- ers' reintegration into the workforce through his Second Chance Society policies, including a 2016 law that pro- hibits employers from requesting a job applicant's criminal history as part of an initial application, recently praised 18 incarcerated graduates of the Wesleyan University Center for Prison Education program who are currently being held at the maximum-security Cheshire Correctional Institution. The program over the last decade has offered accredited Wesleyan courses, including English, biology and philoso- phy, to offenders who committed a wide range of offenses. The program's selec- tive admissions committee accepts students based on intellectual curiosity, work ethic, and other factors. In addition to similar programs providing skills training to ex-offend- ers via the state Department of Cor- rections and Asnuntuck and Goodwin colleges, Hartford nonprofit Chrysalis Center also supports individuals leav- ing Connecticut's prison system. Chrysalis, which provides social ser- vices and develops affordable housing, is nearing completion of a three-year Career Pathways Initiative funded in part by a $4.5 million grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Living. Eight other organizations also receive a portion of the funds, including Capitol Region Education Council, Goodwin College, Hartford Public Library and YMCA Hartford Region Inc. The initiative targets low-skilled Hartford residents, providing access to customized education and training programs, or offering participants support to overcome other barriers. At Chrysalis, 68 of the 104 cur- rent participants are employed, and officials expect that figure to rise as others move through the program, which has served those between ages 18 to 77, with an average age of 33. Hartford native Andre Thompson is one of 200 individuals Chrysalis has served through the Career Pathways program. Thompson started over a year ago and has received lead, asbestos and hazardous waste train- ing on his way to earning a job as an on-site assistant with carpet cleaning company Stanley Steamers. Thompson, 36, has come a long way to find a job that offers a family sus- taining wage after being charged with a slew of drug offenses and serving 90 days in prison for failure to pay child support. The North End resident, who resides where un- employment hov- ers around 35 to 40 percent, said Chrysalis has helped him meet every challenge with direction and motivation. "They provided me with whatever I needed," Thompson said. "Now I have a foundation and am doing pretty well." Although the Chrysalis program is slated to serve 50 individuals a year, it has annually accepted at least 60 or more because of demand, said Robert Michalman, a Chrysalis program manager. Michalman said the program no lon- ger advertises due to its influx of can- didates. And with high unemployment in its North End neighborhood, he says Chrysalis is exploring how to continue the initiative ending in December. "If you want results and you want to empower the individual and offer them some sustainabil- ity at the job … it requires training and a direct path," he said. SPECIAL SERIES Workforce development funding under threat By Joe Cooper jcooper@HartfordBusiness.com A lthough funding to train op- portunity youths and low-skill adults has steadily declined in recent years, Jim Boucher, chief strategy officer for Capital Work- force Partners in Hartford, is growing confident those dollars could be revived. With tens of thousands of job open- ings annually in Connecticut, Boucher said the need to train unskilled workers is slowly making a comeback among federal, state and private funders. But for now, workforce officials work- ing with untapped populations are op- erating with just a fraction of the funds they managed years ago. Since 2001, for example, federal fund- ing for adult education has fallen 21 per- cent to $582 million in 2017, according to the National Skills Coalition. Mean- time, another 16.4 percent cut is proposed for 2018. Nationally, fund- ing earmarked for career and technical educa- tion programs has dropped by $560 million since 2001 to $1.1 billion last year. Over that time, the federal Workforce Innova- tion and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which provides workforce development fund- ing to states and local communities, has been cut by $1.7 billion to $2.7 billion. In north central Connecticut, Boucher says state funding since 2015 has been reduced by almost $3 million for four workforce training programs, which has reduced Capital Workforce Partners' investments in programs supporting ex-offenders, low-skilled adults and opportunity youths, he said. Funding for CWP's Summer Youth Employment and Learning program was restored to $4 million this year after the state removed all of its funding in fiscal 2017. Boucher said the program was re- ceiving $5.5 million just a few years ago. Boucher argues that investment in up-skilling residents pays for itself. He points to a 2016 study by Maryland's Department of Labor, which found the average local economy will gain $3 for every dollar spent on workforce training. "Many other states have been able to do it on a much greater scale than Connecticut," Boucher said of other states supporting workforce develop- ment funding growth. Jim Boucher, Chief Strategy Officer, Capital Workforce Partners Educational attainment in Connecticut (populaion age 25-plus) White Black/ Hispanic Educational attainment Total (Non-Hispanic) African-American or Latino Less than high school 10% 6% 14% 28% High school diploma or GED 28% 27% 33% 33% Some college but less than Bachelor's 25% 25% 31% 22% Bachelor's degree or more 38% 42% 21% 17% Source: 2014 American Community Survey Middle-skill job openings by sector in CT (2014 to 2024) Personal care and service 4,180 Transportation and material moving 5,160 Protective service 5,770 Education, training, library 8,870 Food prep. and serving 9,370 Construction, extraction 12,970 Installation, maintenance, repair 14,980 Office, admin. support 16,640 Sales and related 17,030 Health care 22,790 Production 23,560 Source: CT Department of Labor Occupational Projections; Campaign for Working Connecticut Estimates Andrea Comer, Vice President of Workforce Strategies, Connecticut Business & Industry Association Cynthia Baisden, Program Manager, Community Renewal Team

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