Post by rreiter on Apr 14, 2016 22:55:08 GMT
I thought that there were a lot of creative ideas in response to the workforce development Innovative Challenge. It really speaks to the brainpower and ingenuity of the academy. Here are a few ideas that I really enjoyed:
I really liked Lauren's idea about content to incorporate into a multimedia orientation. Providing participants waiting for their services with information about their job sector, services Fedcap offers, and former success stories can really shape and influence their own career choices and the paths they want to undertake to get there. It would also allow them to formulate questions in their heads, particularly about additional Fedcap programs, that they can ask when they are sitting in front of their case worker. I also like Amanda's ideas about turning our orientations into networking events. It not only encourages participation in the program, but it also builds the critical social skills that job seekers need to hone.
I liked Valerie's idea about teaching self-care. Looking at this through a WeCARE lens, getting a job is not enough to ensure success. Participants need to have good life habits and be cognizant of their own personal health. I think this is a communication we are always trying to improve towards our participants in WeCARE, but success and wellness go hand-in-hand for anyone.
I think Kelly had a great idea about developing a partnership with the New York Labor Market Information Services not just for our current programs but also as a resource as we look to expand.
Rudy's idea about making use of our current computer labs to help ambitious participants become better prepared to work in the technology job market. I also really liked his idea about looking to partner with start-up entrepreneurs. With fledgling businesses looking to keep their costs in check, we can provide them with a workforce that is low cost, comes with tax credits, and is prepared to be a good employee. New businesses start up all of the time, and it seems like a partnership between these businesses and a workforce development organization would be very smart. If we could work out a way to get Fedcap feeding into these businesses for positions ranging from technically skilled to basic labor, that would be one of those "ahead of the curve" ideas. NYC usually is not great about cross-partnerships, but reaching out to SBS to get Fedcap's name in there (and the benefits behind working with Fedcap) could potentially be a new innovative horizon.
In talking about product development, WeCARE has rolled out a terrific system, called Fedcap Sys, which has gone from being a QA and metrics tool to a tool that makes serving our participants more effectively and organizing our data much easier. This tool was built in-house by our Director of Systems and his team, and we are constantly looking for ways to enhance its use. I think what separates Fedcap from so many other organizations that offer similar services is not just the outcomes we produce, but the framework we build to produce these outcomes. There are thousands of different case management programs out there, but to me it seems that the framework of those programs is forced on the organization, who is forced to fit their services into already-determined constraints. By building our own framework based on our needs and expanding it based on ideas in house, we continue to organize a system that grows with our own growth and changes when we need to change. I think that's an important tool that we should continue to develop as it allows us to make the rules and operate beyond the constraints. To me, this makes sense for an organization growing as rapidly as Fedcap.