NEWARK, NJ--July 10, 2013: CareerWorks: Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative announced today that it has awarded a one year, $100,000 grant to the New Community Workforce Development Center (NCWDC)to launch an automotive maintenance technician program that will train 20-25 jobseekers in the field of automotive maintenance and repairs. Those who complete the program will earn the nationally recognized Ford Motor Company Maintenance & Light Repair Certification and be placed at area dealerships or service centers through NCWDC's partnership with Ford and Sansone Auto Mall.
“help residents of inner cities improve the quality of their lives to reflect individual God-given dignity and personal achievement.”
The Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative seeks to create employer-led or employer-centric "workforce partnerships," a nationally recognized model for aligning skills development and training to employers' true career requirements. CareerWorks also seeks to create a pipeline of automotive and transportation technical workers who are proficient in automobile maintenance and repair services. This grant will help NCWDC to begin developing the skilled workers needed to create and sustain this pipeline.
"Our goal is to place all participants, and we have solid commitments to ensure that employment opportunities will be available," said Richard Rohrman, Executive Director, New Community Corporation. "This program was created because our partners, Ford Motor Company and Sansone Auto Mall, recognize the ongoing need for trained automotive technicians throughout the region and state. Additionally, we know that gainful career employment is the single most transformative opportunity in an adult's life."
"There is great demand for skilled automotive technicians at car dealerships such as ours. What's lacking is intensive training and internships that give potential workers the education and life skills that they need to enter such jobs," said Rich Liebler, Chief Administrative Officer at Sansone Auto Group. "Once they're armed with such skills, they can become automotive techs, service writers or even sales people earning from $30,000 to $100,000."
NCWDC offers a 1,200-hour automotive course at its state-of-the-art 12,000-square-foot facility located at 210 West Bigelow Street in Newark that will provide participants with comprehensive training to become automotive technicians and pursue other related careers. Upon completion of training, all program graduates will not only receive the industry-recognized Ford Maintenance and Light Repair Certification but will also receive certifications in: Automotive Gasoline Engines, Automotive Electrical Systems, Automotive Brake Systems, Steering & Suspension Systems, Heat & Air Conditioning, Fuel Systems, and Ignition Systems.
"Engaging employers to anticipate their emerging needs prior to training and gaining their commitment to hire graduates of sector-focused training is the lynchpin of a successful workforce partnership model," said Anthony Campo, Director of the state Transportation, Logistics & Distribution Talent Network, a CareerWorks partner. "CareerWorks follows that model, and has worked successfully with the state's Talent Network in seeking to bridge any gaps between what employers need and the education and training of potential TLD employees."
The grant to New Community Corporation marks CareerWorks' fourth workforce partnership and its entre into the transportation, logistics and distribution sector. CareerWorks creates innovative, workforce development solutions in northern New Jersey that enable low-skilled workers to advance in careers and businesses to compete within the state's growth sectors. CareerWorks currently supports three workforce partnerships in healthcare -- one of New Jersey's strongest sectors.
About CareerWorks: Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative (CareerWorks)
CareerWorks: Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative is the only regional collaborative of workforce investors in New Jersey and the 31st collaborative to join the award-winning National Fund for Workforce Solutions network of innovative workforce solutions across the country. CareerWorks seeks to link and leverage public and private dollars as it taps businesses, civic, and philanthropic stakeholders to develop a sustainable workforce pipeline that advances low-skilled workers and growth industries in northern New Jersey. The Collaborative's funders include The Prudential Foundation, Newark Alliance, Bergen County Workforce Investment Board (WIB), Garfield Foundation, Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, Hudson County WIB, JP Morgan Chase, Kessler Foundation, National Fund for Workforce Solutions, Newark WIB/Newark Works, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, The Nicholson Foundation, PNC Bank, United Way of Essex and West Hudson, Victoria Foundation, Walmart Foundation and Wells Fargo Foundation.
About New Community Corporation (NCC)
New Community Corporation was founded in 1968 in Newark, New Jersey by Monsignor William J. Linder and a small group of community residents during a time of civil unrest that was spreading through urban communities across the United States. New Community has grown to become one of the largest and most comprehensive community development organizations in the country, providing services running the gamut from housing and healthcare to education and banking services. New Community Corporation's mission is to "help residents of inner cities improve the quality of their lives to reflect individual God-given dignity and personal achievement." Some of its programs include a One Stop Family Resources Success Center, a transitional housing facility for the homeless called Harmony House, a federally-insured federal credit union, a Culinary Arts Specialist Program, two early learning centers, and after school and summer camp programs. New Community also owns and operates more than 2,000 units of housing, a 180- bed nursing home, the New Community Extended Care Center, and an Adult Learning Center.
