Latest / This Week in Westchester: The Podcast / Westchester, Explained 21: Building Careers in Clean Energy - A Look Inside Westchester's Free Workforce Resources

Transcript

Westchester, Explained 21: Building Careers in Clean Energy - A Look Inside Westchester's Free Workforce Resources · This Week in Westchester: The Podcast

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_03: Hi Westchester.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_03: I'm Westchester County Government Communications Director Katherine Chaffee.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_03: And as an extension of This Week in Westchester, the podcast, we welcome you to Westchester Explained.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_03: In this episode, we take a closer look at the Westchester Putnam Workforce Development Board and the free resources available to help residents find meaningful employment, gain new skills, and build lasting careers.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_03: We explore how the organization connects job seekers with employers, provides career counseling, resume support, and training opportunities, as well as how to support preparing today's workforce for tomorrow's economy through growing industries like Clean Energy.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_03: We also discuss how these services are helping veterans, individuals with disabilities, residents looking to change careers and others, to overcome barriers to employment while meeting the evolving needs of businesses across Westchester and Putnam.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_03: Join us as we examine how workforce development is creating new opportunities for residents, strengthening our local economy, and why it matters to Westchester residents.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_03: Because this is Westchester Explained.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_03: So let's begin.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, so excited to have three guests in the podcast studio today.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_03: We have Tom Kleiner, who's the executive director of the Westchester Putnam Workforce Development Board, Leslie Meggett.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_03: Am I saying that correctly?
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, Meggett, great.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_03: Supervisor and Program Specialist Workforce Development, and Bob Fois, Voice.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_03: Voice, program specialist for workforce development.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_03: So let's start from the very, very, very, very beginning.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_03: What is the Westchester Putnam Workforce Development Board?
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_03: Tom, what is it?
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_02: So we uh the board oversees uh our career centers uh primarily in White Plains and Mel Vernon, where Leslie and Bob are based.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_02: And uh at a basic level, we just try to link uh job seekers with employment, work with employers to see what their needs are, and then provide the necessary training for the job seekers so they can um take those jobs that are available.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: So we do a lot of community outreach, we do um a lot of uh connection with our educational institutions that provide the training and um try to get as many people jobs as as uh possible.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, terrific.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_03: And Leslie, what do you do for the workforce development board?
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I oversee employment and training, and specifically my team, I have employment counselors.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: So the employment counselors prioritize the job seekers.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And a job seeker would be anyone that walks through that door uh regardless of what their situation is.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: So they may be uh receiving benefits from Department of Social Services or not, we can engage them.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: They can be unemployed or underemployed, we can engage them.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: They can be receiving uh collecting unemployment or exhausted of their unemployment, we can engage them.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: So anyone that walks through the door is gonna have a specific situation and purpose for coming to the career center.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, my employment counselors, we will prioritize the job seekers and what their needs are so that we can align and help them with their next career steps.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Then the business services team will prioritize the employers and the businesses um throughout Westchester County to engage so that we can then come to that happy medium and then start that pipeline of providing uh the companies and the employers with new staff and new workforce, basically.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_03: And and Bob, what is your role in all of this?
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: Job developer uh business services where I'm reaching out to businesses and finding out what they need.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: Who they're looking to hire.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, that we try to make that connection, figuring out what the career pathway has to be for the job seeker and what kind of training they're gonna need.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: And that's becoming more and more what's happening now in business services and workforce development, trying to find out what the industry specific strategies are, what they're looking for, which is ties into what we were talking before about uh clean energy.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: Which is we're gonna get to that.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_03: We're gonna get to that.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_03: And you're excited.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_03: Um so, but I think it's before we talk about clean energy um jobs, which is why we're all here today, I want to just really highlight that this service is for anybody.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_03: Correct.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_03: And it's free.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_03: And it's free.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_03: Um, that's really a tremendous resource that people do you feel like people realize what they have as an option to help them?
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: We offer resume preparation, interview preparation.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: And we're even uh trying to show people how they can work with the AI in terms of resume preparation.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: So we're doing that, and that's all free.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: All free.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: Our computer services are all free.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: The state's computer serves, St.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: D.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: Well's computer services are all free.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: You learn all the software you want to learn, it's all available to learn.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's there.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: And it's something to get people job ready and prepared for the workflow.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's really exciting to have that kind of now.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Before we even get into the speci the specific details of all the resources and services, we still, for as long as we have been in existence with open doors to the community, we we still need and continue the outreach with regards to uh providing information on the fact that we are available and where we are located.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: So why don't we tell everybody real quick?
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: Just tell where are you?
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: How do they get a hold of you?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: So in in White Plains, the White Plains Career Center is housed at 120 Bloomingdale Road.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, for many, many years, there has been the partnership with the Department of Labor at that specific location.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: So there's been not some confusion, but there could be some uh misunderstanding of of who's located at that facility.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: It is primarily the Department of Labor that everyone knows that office um to be, you know, to fall under the category, but the it is there in the career center.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's for White Plains.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: In Mount Vernon, we are now at 130 Mount Vernon Avenue in Mount Vernon, New York.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: So we are in a mixed building.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: So we are the first two floors of a residential building, but we have a separate entrance.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: We also have free parking available.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: We're two blocks off from the Mount Vernon West train station.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, you're my right off plus where we aren't and us.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and the B-line number seven runs right by us in Mount Vernon.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Terrific.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_03: And so your services, well, uh so many questions, Rod.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_03: So, first of all, can people access them virtually or do they have to come in person?
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: We we can offer it virtually.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: We have.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: We do let people know about virtual services that are offered by the DOL.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: We do have now, with our new whiteboards, the capacity now to put our resume classes and orientation online, which we've been working on also.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, terrific.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_03: And you have to be a Westchester or Putnam resident.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: Or your employer where you last worked.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, Westchester and Putnam.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_03: So some kind of Westchester or Putnam connection.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_03: Um, okay, very exciting stuff here.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_03: And your level of you can help place people who have all different skill sets.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_03: This is not just for executives or not just for entry level.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_03: It's for everybody, for everyone.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_02: No, but I will say uh we we concentrate on those who have barriers to employment.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: So perfect.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_02: Those who are uh have been involved with the criminal justice system, have economic challenges.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: We actually have a partnership with uh that started in Al Vernon called the Financial Empowerment Center that advises people on their finances and uh gives them uh guidance if they have uh financial difficulty.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: And then some of those same uh clients for that service, you know, use our service and vice versa.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_03: So that's your focus, but you really can serve anybody.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: Uh but generally it's those who don't can't afford private job seeking services.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um and and that's again not the only focus, but but the uh those who primarily need them, uh need those services are are those who likely can't get them elsewhere.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_03: Well, it's it's tremendous, it's a tremendous service that you are offering because as you pointed out, it is usually very expensive.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_03: And not everyone can afford that for sure.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell We offer expedited services for veterans and spouses of veterans.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: For those with challenges who are sit disabled, we work with Access VR to provide uh all types of ways of getting back into the workforce.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we work we work extensively with seniors also.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: That's become a bigger issue, especially with the early retirees and trying to figure out uh retraining as far as what they're going to do next.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: We had a whole group of people who were taking uh quick and quick books training.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: The people who had been in accounting and bookkeeping who took that SWCC to find other jobs post-retirement.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_02: Just a quick note on disabilities, the county, as you know, has the diverse abilities job fares.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_02: And we work closely with Sherry Asher and and uh the county exec's office, this office to uh you know promote that and participate in it, which has been a real stupid thing.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: Why don't you tell everybody what that is for those who don't know?
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_02: So the the um Sherry Asher in uh this office, the county executive's office, um, has now had, I guess, maybe four diverse abilities job fairs.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_02: And it's it's targeted to those with dis disabilities of uh almost any kind.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_02: And it's been really an incredible success because the employers really appreciate the enthusiasm of those with any kind of disability uh who show up.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_02: And and of course, um th those who do uh secure employment with these employers are great uh uh employees.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_02: They really um appreciate the opportunity that that uh this uh gives them.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_02: And and they've been uh shown to be just, you know, one of the best employees in any of the companies that attend.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_02: And it's a pretty wide variety now.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_02: They've had, I don't know, over the years over a few hundred employers who take advantage.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_02: And there's another one coming up, I guess in September.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_02: October.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_02: October.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Liz.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_03: Well, thank you for explaining all that.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_03: And I think it's important to get that sort of settled on the table.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_03: This is what you do.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but now for what you're really here today, the real the main event is um you are pushing for clean energy jobs.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_03: Talk to me about what does that mean?
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_02: So what we do as a workforce board career center, we we talk about sectors.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_02: So in over the past number of years, we we've emphasized advantage manufacturing jobs, IT, healthcare, which is still very active with our Westchester County Association colleagues.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um but it's difficult to frankly get a handle on the opportunities and to get employers engaged.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_02: What we've been able to do with clean energy, which is expanding in a number of ways, even though the federal government obviously is stepping back in a number of ways in terms of grants and funding for clean energy initiatives, wind and solar and all of those things.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_02: The state of New York and certainly the county of Westchester under County Executive Jenkins has really stepped up to fill that void.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: So there are a lot of clean energy opportunities.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: What's unique about what we're trying to do now is that um the Business Council of Westchester has formed something called the Clean Energy Action Coalition.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_02: It's a committee of the BCW.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_02: And that has Ron Kamen's the head of that, they have about 50 members, um, a number of clean energy employers, and that means people who are involved with energy efficiency and HVAC and solar and wind, but also more bricks and mortar companies like Ropes and Oil, that has been involved in energy forever, but are transitioning, is transitioning in some respects to these clean energy opportunities.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_02: So this committee and these members, including educational members and not-for-profits, exist.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_02: And what we can do, because it's difficult, as we may have mentioned earlier, to try to figure out how to engage employers and maximize the opportunity for job seekers, but this is low-hanging fruit.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_02: So Bob and Nishon Halevi, who works with Bob in business services, is going to and has started to reach out to these uh members of the committee and others to say, hey, you know, what jobs do you have available?
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_02: We have job seekers who um have recently been trained or wish to be trained in this area, and we're going to connect all these pieces together.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_02: And then just the final thing I'll say is a lot of pieces to this, a lot of tentacles.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um Leslie and I took an intensive eight-week remote and in-person clean energy uh course with uh the two providers uh from the Green Launchpad and Will Dan Associates.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_02: And then we brought that training to Bob and his other colleagues for a two-day staff training to try to get everybody up to speed with their complexities of clean energy jobs.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_02: So we're trying to put um education, awareness, outreach, connection with these employers all together to try to maximize the opportunities and really focus, uh not have such a scattered uh uh approach to you know, working with employers, but to use this opportunity to bring all these pieces together.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_03: And so when we talk about clean energy jobs, what specific jobs are we talking about?
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: Well, heating and air conditioning, there's whole different ways of of uh putting together uh uh the boilers and the and the heating system to conserve energy there.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: There's obviously solar.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh there's ways in which the new ways they're insulating buildings, the way even the new windows that are.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: So are these construction jobs?
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: Some of them are construction, some of them are electrical, some of them are plumbing.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh there's a broad range of trades here.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: Good paid jobs.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: Good paying jobs.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: Very good jobs.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: And besides that, they get a chance to learn a trade.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: They get in the door with companies with new technology, and these companies are finding practical uses of the clean energy practices.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of efficiency, a lot of savings.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: There is a dollar figure that's discussed.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: There's a savings there too, which is really exciting.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's very practical.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: And it's the business council that's head is heading this off.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: And they are very, very serious about the practicality.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: And they and the bricks and mortar end of it on Ron and Ron's end has been incredible.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, this is the industry-driven approach, is basically what he's using here.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: And it has been um it's been great to see in terms of the opportunities in the trades for people.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's the biggest thing.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_03: That that is always a big topic because there is a a fear sometimes that those trades are going away.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_03: And they are not.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_03: There was a big demand.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: There's there what's happening, these these companies are are seeing where they have the retool.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: And also developers and contractors and people building anything are realizing that they find that they can find new efficiencies with in in what they're building.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: So now all of a sudden they need people who know how to do this.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so they do want to sit down with, you know, we have people, even from the electrical end, uh with lighting installation, who want to find people who know how to use the advanced electronics, that's being applied too.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: There's there's and saving electricity when that end of it saves everybody money and energy and it's better for the environment.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_02: And also what's really what's changed in the last year, the the lines have shifted, meaning if fossil fuels used to be more affordable than clean energy, and and that is no longer the case.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's actually cheaper for uh homeowners, for businesses and homeowners to use clean energy options rather than fossil fuels.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_02: And that, you know, we were talking to that committee, a Clean Energy Action Coalition, to really emphasize that because people really it's still under the radar a little bit.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_02: People assume, oh, you know, clean energy is the right public policy, but it's it c it's gonna cost me too much.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_02: And that's no longer the case, which is a great opportunity as well.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_03: And what um, Leslie, what sort of response have you gotten from employees who are coming in to get this training?
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it, you know, it depends.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, this is uh a new sector that we're wanting to expand in.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: So we're growing um as far as the information goes.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: We're also expanding our minds, um, really to wrap our head around the terminology, the various different types of uh job opportunities, the job titles, and then the trainings that are associated.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: So right now, our push is to speak to job seekers on what their interests are.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now, some are coming in already having identified um, you know, the green sector construction, et cetera, as what their interests in pursuing a career path in.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, some it's based off of their transferable skills, where we start to speak to them about stacking credentials to credentials that they've already uh possess.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, because right now, what one of the biggest things that we learned from training with the Green Launchpad is that there all of the new um construction projects are being required.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there is a very specific now percentage of efficiency that they have to meet with regards to the type of lighting that they're using now moving forward.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Right, you know, um, with the the type of of plumbing and just the structure in general, you know, how it's going to be uh heated, how it's gonna be cooled.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so we have to kind of be in line with these changes and be aware of them.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: But it's for with our job seekers coming in, um, we are trying to introduce to them, and that's why we, you know, participated and also initiated having a staff training with the Green Launchpad so that we're all, you know, we're not gonna be experts in this sector overnight.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna take us some time.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna grow with the industry as the industry grows.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: But it's about being familiar with the terminology, the job titles, and all of the different trainings, credentials that are out there, who needs them, which are the most useful, and which one of our eligible training providers have them available now, today.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there's been the uh approach of of crafting the training so that you're not just learning one specific thing.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: We do this with the construction, we do this already with the healthcare, where you learn three or four different things within your training, whether it's at OCS or WCC or a few other training providers.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: So you're you're getting not just one credential, you may be getting a handful of credentials that can apply in different areas.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_03: You make yourself more marketable.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_03: And the training that you're referencing, is that free or it's free?
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_03: Well, there are some.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: Well, so it would it would be free.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: It would be free to the job seeker based on income eligibility process that they go through with us.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, got it.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, because we oversee um WIOA funding, which is the Workforce Innovation Opportunities Act.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: And those are federal dollars.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: So we go through an eligibility process with them.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: So there's additional documentation once they've registered and start working with us through the career center.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: Once we start, once we've identified uh that training would be their next best option, you know, for either beginning or continuing on a career path, then we go through an income eligibility process.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_03: Would you say that this is one of the biggest areas that you're focusing in right now?
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it's one of the areas where we've where we do we just finished doing an audit of what we had done in training over the past year, seeing where people have been placed in terms of their work after they took the training.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I forgot how many hundred did we have that were in the who had taken part in trainings, either at WCC or postseason or other places, and have and had found work.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: So we, you know, yes, one of the areas practically where we are trying to expedite maintaining the training providers, whether it's CDL, truck driving, healthcare, um I mentioned QuickBooks, I mentioned uh any number of areas in the trades, HVAC, uh, electrical, plumbing, construction.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um so what happens is that you, of course, we have to ask, we have to match these people with the training.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: We also have to listen to the employers and find out what their what their real needs are, right?
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: Which is part of what's happening with the Clean Energy Coalition.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_03: And it must be when these men and women are placed in these jobs after the training, after everything that you've done, the training you've had, it must be so rewarding to see them succeed and get jobs.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: When you find out the outcomes.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: Now it was a brave new world.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: We may pick up the phone, we started calling people from a year, a year and a half ago to find out what had happened.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: What are you doing?
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: What's up with that?
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: Well, right.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: And we did to our what uh we were very enthused by the number of people who had actually found work, and some of the salaries were competitive, which was a big deal.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: That's because that's the little wage issue is a big issue in Westchester.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: And we are looking at that also in terms of the training.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: And and there's, you know, we have the entry level and the mid-skilled, but you know, you want to take someone from the entry level to the mid-skilled, you want to create what's what we call a career pathway.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: Once you have them on a career pathway, then they're building a building block towards a bigger career and more money.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_03: And that's so rewarding for you.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_03: And good for all of us, honestly.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_03: As Westchester County residents, as taxpayers, we want our neighbors and our family members and our friends to succeed and do well.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_03: So this is all around.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely correct.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: And we just recently had um, we hosted a job fair uh in the Mount Vernon area.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: And we had uh, I want to say we so I'm gonna say well, we had 704 people register and then 540 people walk through the door the day of the job.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: So that was excellent.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: So now here comes the the the rest of the bulk of the work for us in doing the follow up so that we can continue to get those wonderful outcomes.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we have to make that phone call to find out what the outcome is.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Or we have to actually then we have to find out uh what let's we talk about engage them and find out what else they might need.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_03: Right, right.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, for for people who might be listening to this and think, oh, I I'm not qualified, I'm not smart enough, I'm not good enough, I'm too old, I'm too young, I'm too this, I'm too that.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_03: What would you say to them?
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_02: Uh come come to the career center, and we have great uh we have a great staff that's really committed to uh showing that that's not that's almost never the case.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_02: We can, you know, we're we're focusing on clean energy.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_02: At some other point we can talk about AI and those opportunities, pitfalls and opportunities, but uh but we're we're focused on clean energy as a major emerging sector and others as well.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_02: Uh healthcare working with Westchester County Association um through the HTPP Healthcare Talent Pipeline Program, 300 people have been employed.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_02: So there are opportunities in a variety of ways.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_02: And if uh listeners want to go to our website, WestchesterPutnam1Stop.com, or we you can we you know what you can call me 914-995-3707 is my direct number.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_02: Perfect.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: And I'll direct you to Leslie and Bob and and our staff.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_02: And and uh no one should feel shy or reluctant to do so because we really have helped a lot of people.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_02: And again, like anything else, you know, people may not know to reach out unless they really need us, but we want to encourage people either who are looking for their first job or are looking to transition from one career to the next, and we'll do our best to help.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: We even offer a civil service class where we try to this question comes up all the time because we have uh re early retirees or retirees who are worried about ages.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we say very firmly, as far as we know, there's no ageism in civil service.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: And there's a lot of talent out there and it's being laid off right now.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: So guess what?
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: This is an opportunity to get them back in the workforce.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: And for young people, it's a great opportunity to teach them how to take the civil service exams, how to even look at provisional appointments and how to get in the door with what could be a permanent career.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: So we will look at that also.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_03: That's a whole other podcast, which we have to do because I I, you know, there is um it is not uh a hard process, but it is a process that not everyone is familiar with.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_03: And I think they get overwhelmed and they don't realize how much opportunity that exam can offer.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the job search right now for a lot of people can feel overwhelming.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: I always remind people don't take the silences rejection.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: In sales, you may have to reach 99 people before you get a yes.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like that with unfortunately, it's it can be like that with a with a searching for a job.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of people are going through this right now.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: And so we try to help them as far as getting them job ready, getting the resumes ready.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: And if they need any additional training, we try to we try to pitch that to them where where they need it.
• 24:58
  unknown: Right.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_03: Interesting.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_03: Leslie, anything you want to tell those people out there who are listening and thinking, I'm not sure.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I do.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: I want to let everyone know that registering for Career Center Services is very easy to do.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's fast and it's free.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: We have orientation in White Plains every Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, 10 a.m.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: 120 Bloomingdale Road in Mount Vernon.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone is welcome as well.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: And we have orientation every Wednesday morning, and we begin promptly at 9 30.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we ask everyone to arrive at 9.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: Please come by and see us.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_03: All right, terrific.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much for joining us today.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_03: A wealth of information is so much.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_03: You offer so much to our residents.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you for all you do, and we'll have you back soon.