JUMP START PROGRAM GIVES UNEMPLOYED PUSH INTO WORK FORCE

Annie Bell thinks she is more successful in her job and a better role model for her two children since graduating from the Jump Start for Jobs program.

Bell said the employment program taught her many things that have helped in the three months she's been a certified nurse's assistant at Beverly Health and Rehabilitation Services.

"I learned that if you have a problem, you should go talk to your boss, not just quit or not show up," Bell said. "I also learned not to depend on one form of transportation, to always have a ride available."

These sound like basic job-retention techniques but they may not be common knowledge to those new to the work force, said Elana Williams, employment coordinator at the Southeast Missouri Private Industry Council. Williams is in charge of the Jump Start program, which is accepting applications for its next series of classes that will begin Monday.

The 10-day program is aimed at showing the unemployed how to get and keep a job, Williams said. In daylong classes, participants are taught what employers expect during job interviews and of employees on the job.

The program is aimed at those who are unemployed, Williams said. It is of particular benefit to those who have been dependent on welfare or food stamps and who have not had much experience in the work force.

"It's for people who want a better wage and a better way of life," Williams said of Jump Start.

Bell had had jobs and training to be a certified nurse's assistant, but she felt she needed help with work habits when she began the Jump Start program in October.

"I did Jump Start to get more skills," Bell said. "I learned to dress for an interview, that you shouldn't quit a job, how to talk to people, how to talk about problems."

In addition, Williams said, Jump Start classes cover interviewing skills, stress management, values in the work place, how a criminal record can affect employment, attitudes at work, substance abuse problems, team work and the perspective of the employer. Participants are also given practical information on budgeting, handling debt and using community resources.

At the upcoming session, Williams said, participants will go through an aptitude assessment. The assessment will show participants the types of employment they might do well in.

And, she said, if they are interested in a career that the assessment shows they don't have good skills in, the participants will be directed toward other programs where they may be able to get those skills.

At the end of the two weeks of classes, employers are brought in for a job fair where participants can interview for jobs.

Participants who land jobs after completing Jump Start are given a stipend at certain employment milestones, Williams said. Those stipends, which are given in the form of discount store gift certificates rather than cash, are $25 after 30 days, $50 after 90 days and $100 after six months on the job.

Of the 14 people who completed the Jump Start session that ended in October, five made it to the 90-day milestone, Williams said.

"That may not sound like a lot, but these are people who were hard to employ," she said.

Bell said her life has improved since graduating from Jump Start.

"When you have a job, you don't have to depend on someone else," she said. "You think about that check coming in so you can buy your kids what they need and actually get ahead."

INFORMATION

For information on the Jump Start for Jobs employment program, call Elana Williams at the Southeast Missouri Private Industry Council, 334-0990, Ext. 38.