Yet Another Workshop?

In addition to the intake, enormous amount of case management, and cultural orientation, a resettlement agency should also provide another tool to newly arriving Americans: a job readiness workshop.

A workshop environment, when set up the right way, can be a wonderful learning tool. It can provide a safe and open environment for soon-to-be-working individuals to express their concerns in a safe setting and where they can learn real solutions. It is a chance for participants to learn from one another and to connect and bond as a community.

One topic that always comes up in our Pittsburgh job readiness workshop is transportation. We know why this is a concern: picture yourself lost on the bus without the language or topographical knowledge of the land. Now imagine knowing, even though you do not speak the language, that the bus goes in a circle and will come back to this stop again — or having pictures in your hand of the buildings you need to look for of your stop. This provides empowerment – and security.

All of us strive to empower clients to help them reach self-sufficiency. Job readiness workshops provide a sense of group learning, which furthers them toward that goal. Does your site already provide a job readiness workshop or something like it? If so, please give us an example of something that works well so that we can learn from one another.