Friday, November 12, 2004
Mobile Works President Sydney Raine received the Partners In Progress Award for his work in both securing $407,418 in national emergency grant monies from the U.S. Department of Labor to provide temporary jobs for the City of Mobile, Mobile County and other municipalities within the county of Mobile for Hurricane Ivan disaster relief�and in using the monies to quickly implement actual jobs for Mobile area workers.
The Partners in Progress Award was presented to Raine by Dr. Tim Alford, Director of Workforce Development for the State of Alabama, on Thursday, November 4, 2004. Dr. Alford presented the award to Raine at a ceremony held at the State of Alabama Workforce Development Conference, which was held from November 3-5 in Birmingham. The award honors business, government and cultural leaders for making progress in workforce development a priority within their organizations and within their local Alabama communities.
Raine worked quickly with officials from the City of Mobile, Mobile County and several other municipalities in Mobile County to secure their agreement to provide jobs to local workers to aid in hurricane cleanup. Within one week of notification of receipt of the grant monies, Raine�s quick action ensured that 77 jobs were filled throughout the greater Mobile area�out of the 105 jobs that could have been funded with the grant, for nearly 75% implementation. What makes this unique is that Raine spearheaded an effort that made Mobile the only county in the state to actually take advantage of the $7.5 million grant made available to Alabama by the Department of Labor for Hurricane Ivan disaster relief throughout the entire state.
Friday, October 15, 2004
Mobile Works Inc. announced today that it has earmarked funds to aid laid-off workers in Mobile County. In the 2004-2005 fiscal year, Mobile Works will invest nearly $4.9 million dollars in jobs, training and economic initiatives for all of Mobile County, including funds earmarked specifically for laid-off workers. Laid-off workers are immediately eligible for the two major programs that Mobile Works has for jobseekers in need of a new career. First, jobseekers must register at the Alabama Career Center for employment services. If they are unable to find a job and need further training, they can apply for the Mobile Works programs, including:
Individual Training Scholarships that allow eligible candidates to attend school for up to two years. Candidates must meet income requirements or be a laid-off worker in need of retraining. Since the program began in 2000, over 3,000 jobseekers have received scholarships worth nearly $5.6 million.
On-the-Job-Training allows jobseekers to be paid while training in a new career. Mobile Works develops a contract with a for-profit employer where Mobile Works agrees to reimburse the employer up to 50% of the cost to train a new hire for up to six months. The employer agrees to hire trainees for permanent full-time positions. Over 215 people have been trained since 2000, with over 48 local businesses receiving total trainee wage reimbursements worth over $609,000.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Mobile Works was notified by Elaine Chao, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, that Governor Bob Riley of the State of Alabama will receive $7.5 million for Hurricane Ivan disaster relief. Mobile Works was notified by Governor Riley that it had received $407,418 in grant monies from the Department of Labor under Section 173 of the Workforce Investment Act that will be awarded to the City of Mobile, Mobile County and other municipalities within the county of Mobile for Hurricane Ivan disaster relief.
National Emergency Grants are discretionary grants awarded by the Secretary of Labor that provide supplemental funding for workforce development, employment services and other assistance for workers affected by major economic issues, such as plant closures, and major disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes or floods, during which their jobs were displaced.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Mobile Works elected new board officers for the 2004-2005 fiscal year at it�s annual meeting. The announcement was made by Sydney G. Raine, President of Mobile Works. Charles E. (Charlie) Story will take the lead as Chairman of the Board, with Ralph Buffkin elected to the Vice Chairman post. Steve Perry will act as Secretary and D. Mark Nix will serve as Treasurer.
Monday, June 14, 2004
Mobile Works brought in international speaker and consultant Lester Brown to speak to kick off the Summer Jobs for Youth 2004 program on Monday June 14, 2004. Lester Brown has developed one of the nation's most outstanding programs for working with youth and at-risk populations to help them avoid the path that led him to a life term in prison. Drawing on his personal experiences and street credibility, he delivered a powerful message that inspires and motivates at-risk and troubled youth that face the same issues he once did.
Mobile Works invested $437,741 in the 12-month youth program being delivered by the Mobile County Public School System. Lester Brown delivered his message to approximately 275 Mobile County Public School System students on Monday June 14, 2004 at 9:00 am at the Leflore High School Theater in Mobile, in addition to speaking to their parents that evening at 6:00 pm at the same location.