UWSEMO, community groups to host workforce development event

United Way of Southeast Missouri (UWSEMO) is partnering with regional and national partners to host a workforce development event aimed at supporting economic mobility.

Alongside the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, UWSEMO will encourage collaboration between banks and community organizations to inspire new workforce development initiatives.

Their event is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2 at the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center at 1080 S. Silver Springs Rd.

Registration and networking will start at 10:30 a.m.

Among other program announcements, the Urban League will announce the expansion of its Save Our Sons + Sisters initiative to the Southeast Missouri region.

“We are looking to bring everything that we do here in St. Louis to that area (Southeast Missouri) in terms of connecting people to opportunities,” Save Our Sons regional director Tydrell Stevens said.

Save Our Sons + Sisters is a workforce development program that teaches participants skills such as marketability, pathways to promotion and how to acquire jobs.

They also connect individuals with classes that can teach them about more direct skills for specific career fields.

“We want to not only speak about what we’re doing, but come to learn from the individuals that are present on what they really see that they need … so we can work with our team to make sure we come in July and we’re prepared to meet those needs,” Stevens said.

Transportation to workplaces, he said, is one such issue he knows many potential workers currently face.

Save Our Sons + Sisters will start working in Southeast Missouri in July. Stevens said the program would most likely be based out of the UWSEMO building at 1417 N. Mount Auburn Rd.

“This program that started in the St. Louis area has began to become a national model and we want to make sure take care of home first and that other parts of Missouri get the same benefits and services that we provide here in St. Louis,” he said.

In St. Louis, Save Our Sons + Sisters has enrolled more than 3,000 people and placed 815 in employment positions. The organization helps people of all backgrounds.

Stevens will detail partnerships with Ameren Missouri, Spire Energy, Miller Pipeline, INTREN and Mears Group to provide pre-apprenticeship programs for the energy sector.

Donna Brake, with the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, will discuss additional apprenticeship opportunities.

The UWSEMO United We Work program will also be showcased.