SUCCESS AT WORK:The Stories of Jake, Nate and<strong>Roca</strong>’s Workforce Development ProgrammingDuring the summer of 2011, an AmeriCorp VISTA Volunteer applicationcaught the attention of Executive Director Molly Baldwin. The applicationwas submitted by Jake Jacobs, a businessman who was looking for amajor life change. After a very successful career in the for-profit world,he wanted to make <strong>more</strong> of a difference in people’s lives. Jake spentover 30 years on the management and sales end of the manufacturingindustry. He made the decision to become an Americorp Vista Volunteerwith the hope of engaging in meaningful community service.The timing of his arrival at <strong>Roca</strong> couldn’t have been better. <strong>Roca</strong> needed someone who couldadvance its employment programming to the next level of development and performance. Itquickly became clear that Jake was the person to do it. Within several months of Jake’s arrival at<strong>Roca</strong>, Molly took him on as full-time director of the program. With a wealth of business experience,a world view that extended beyond the non-profit world and a management capacity thatexceeded anyone in the position prior to his arrival, Jake launched into managing and improving<strong>Roca</strong>’s programming with a full head of steam.14 | www.rocainc.org
Some improvements that have occurred under Jake’s leadership.• <strong>Roca</strong> expanded its prevocational training to create a <strong>more</strong> direct pipeline toemployment for young men with criminal records, augmenting the on-goingdevelopment of critical soft skills.• Building off the United States Department of Labor Pathways Out of Povertygrant (providing training and industry recognized certifications in entry level andgreen jobs), <strong>Roca</strong> developed its pre-vocational curriculum with a focus on fourcore industries: hospitality, construction, retail and culinary arts. Funding from theUnited Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley and the CommonwealthCorporation Transitional Employment Program Grant supported this work.• <strong>Roca</strong> expanded employer partnerships in the Chelsea, Revere and Bostonarea, including the Marriott Residence Inn, Bolt Facilities Care Corporationand Whole Foods.AN OVERVIEW OF ROCA’S IMPROVED WORKFORCEDEVELOPMENT PROGRAMOver the last two years, <strong>Roca</strong> deliberately focused on strengthening workforcedevelopment through pre-vocational training, workforce <strong>read</strong>iness programming andcontinued improvement of transitional employment.Pre-vocational training provides young people with the basic job skills andcertifications needed to enter the workforce and sustain employment. Young peopleparticipate in on-site training courses to earn informal/formal industry certificationsincluding: OSHA, CPR, Heartsaver AED, Lead Safe Removal, Carpet Care, Floor Care,ServSafe, forklift operation, green cleaning, housekeeping and <strong>more</strong>. We also offerapprenticeships with organizations such as the Carpenters’ Union. Soft skills aredeveloped in resume and interview training, job <strong>read</strong>iness and career exploration.ROCA OPERATES BASIC AND ADVANCED TRAN-SITIONAL EMPLOYMENT SLOTS DESIGNED TOSUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRACTICE OFWORKFORCE BEHAVIORS NECESSARY FOR JOBPLACEMENT AND RETENTION. ROCA SERVED 172PARTICIPANTS IN TRANSITIONAL EMPLOYMENT:161WERE SERVED IN BASIC TRANSITIONAL EMPLOYMENT31WERE SERVED IN ADVANCE TRANSITIONALEMPLOYMENT121ATTAINED AT LEAST ONE INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZEDCERTIFICATION148YOUNG MEN WERE ENGAGED IN WORKFORCEREADINESS WORKSHOPS102PARTICIPANTS HAD A MINIMUM OF SIX DEMONSTRATEDSKILLS AND BEHAVIORS ASSESSMENTSIn an effort to <strong>more</strong> appropriately assess young people’s workforce <strong>read</strong>iness, <strong>Roca</strong>developed a Workforce Readiness Criteria that includes four domains youngpeople have to complete to be considered workforce <strong>read</strong>y. They are:• Domain 1 is a checklist of basic needs, such as required identification forms/cards, resumes, transportation plans and childcare plans.• Domain 2 requires completion of 12 workshops, including sexual harassment,workplace communications, mock interviews, understanding CORI and conflictmanagement.• Domain 3 covers demonstrated skills and behaviors that are observed andassessed by crew supervisors, youth workers and vocational instructorsincluding: Being on time, appropriate language, team work, following directions,positive attitude and personal hygiene.• Domain 4 tracks concrete benchmarks including: Completing transitionalemployment, program attendance and completing a minimum of 2 industryrecognized vocational certificationsWhile the success of our revamped employment and workforce developmentprogramming can be viewed in our outcome statistics, perhaps a <strong>more</strong> resoundingtestimony of success can be found in the words of a young person who graduatedfrom <strong>Roca</strong> to a fulltime job.Nate came to <strong>Roca</strong> while living in a halfway house after being released from jail.Prior to incarceration, Nate had been heavily involved in street activity in Boston,particularly drug-dealing. When he was referred to <strong>Roca</strong>, and began participatingin <strong>Roca</strong>’s Transitional Employment Program, his life began to change – slowly butsurely. Speaking about his experience in <strong>Roca</strong>’s Transitional Employment program,Nate was honest about the hard work it took to get where he is now:“When I first came to <strong>Roca</strong>, I didn’t want to work, I didn’t like listening to my crewsupervisor, I hated following directions and, sometimes, I would skip out completely.But after a while, things began to sink in. And no matter how many times I screwedup, <strong>Roca</strong> staff still believed in me so I stuck with it. Along the way, they helped mefigure out how to manage my anger, listen to my supervisors and they helped megain the skills I needed to get a good job. Now, after finishing <strong>Roca</strong>’s program, I’vehad a full-time job for over eight months. Work isn’t easy and it’s not always fun butI stick with it. I’ve come too far to quit now.”“After 30 years in thecorporate world, I made adecision to focus my skillsand passion toward youngmen and women of highrisk who could benefit frommy experiences. At <strong>Roca</strong>, Ifound an organization thatwas very much in line withmy beliefs. At <strong>Roca</strong>, we believein hard truths and thatthe key to our participants’future success is througheducation and work. Theresults we deliver at <strong>Roca</strong>are dramatic. My decision,albeit unconventional, hasproven to be the best decisionof my life. I only wish Ihad made it sooner.”— JAKE JACOBS,DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & MAJOR GIFTS2012 Annual Report | 15
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