This morning we had over 30 seniors hear from local employers and job training programs. The community guests were from Willow Valley Communities, PA Career Link, Thaddeus Stevens, RR Donnelley, and Adult Career and Technical Training Center.

Willow Valley Communities is expecting a lot of job opportunities due to the current workforce approaching retirement.  RR Donnelley representatives talked about entry level jobs and the career growth available from those entry level jobs.  The keys for success shared by RR Donnelley representatives were:

1. Be on time
2. Take initiative and show interest
3. Work Safely
4. Work well on a team with others

The Lancaster County Career & Technical Center shared their Adult Career and Technical Training Center programs. One interesting fact relation to 1:2:7 ratio: for every one job that requires a masters degree, two require a bachelors, and seven require an associates degree or certificate.

The PA Career Link has funding for summer job programs for students on free or reduced lunch and students with disabilities.  In addition to funding training programs through community organizations, they also provide training directly through the Career Link. For example, Fork-lift Operator, Work Keys Testing, and many others.  Companies like Pepperidge Farm and Armstrong all use the Work Keys Testing.  Talk to PA Career Link for the Ready2Work Work Keys training to participate for free before the end of June. Career Link also shared an upcoming training with Thaddeus Stevens in Metal Casting.  They shared that metal casters make parts for electronics, such as cell phones and lights.