River Valley's First WorkReady Program Graduates 10

[Happy group after Wednesday's WorkReady mock interviews]
[WorkReady grads and staff: Front (L-R)-Nancy Allen (Region 9), Deborah Koliche, Laurie Smith, Theresa Thibodeau, Marcie Conley, William Kelley, Sandra Nisbet, Lisa Doughty, Jay Walsh and Jolan Ippolito (training facilitator); Back-Jerri-Lyn Vaillancourt; absent when photo taken-Nancy McPherson]

Friday, the River Valley’s first WorkReady Credential Program awarded 10 graduates their credentials, in a luncheon ceremony held at Bear-Ly Inn, in Dixfield.

WorkReady is a 60 hour program that focuses on providing important foundational skills to candidates looking to boost their employment opportunities and achieve greater success in the workforce. WorkReady establishes a firm platform upon which to build additional employer-specific training and skills upon. Rather than relegate many of our workforce to a life that ends up being characterized by low-wage, low-skill employment, WorkReady has a goal of steering candidates to jobs and careers that require middle-skills, which is where over half of all jobs will be created in the next 10 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Nancy Allen, director of Region 9 Learning Center, in Mexico, was instrumental in this initial pilot’s success. Additionally, training facilitator, Jolan Ippolito, brought a wealth of business and education experience to her task of preparing graduates for mock interviews, portfolio preparation and ways to improve presentation and selling the skills that each candidate leaves the program with.

WorkReady was made possible in the River Valley through Betterment Funds, secured by the Department of Education/Maine Adult Education, as well as a partnership between Region 9 Learning Center, Western Maine Community Action, the MaineCareer Center, the Central/Western Maine Workforce Investment Board and Coastal Enterprises, Inc. Additionally, special thanks is extended to Keri Osburn, at the River Valley Chamber of Commerce, for encouraging participation of the local business community, as well as River Valley Growth Council, for advocating for a pilot program in the area.

Lastly, area businesses stepped up in a big way, as eight area employers and their representatives participated in mock interviews, on Wednesday, prior to the graduation, at the River Valley Tech Center. A hearty thanks is offered to the following companies for offering in-kind support by their presence; Mark Henry/Mark Henry Enterprises, Diane Perry/Franklin Savings, Anna Russo Bowen/Hancock Lumber, Hannaford Supermarkets, Cindy Giroux/Oxford Federal Credit Union, Colleen Ippolito/Northeast Bank-Lewiston, Jim Brown/Western Maine Insurance and Dan Pelletier/Oxford County Mental Health.

Plans are being made to offer another WorkReady program in the fall.