By CHUCK KNEBL
Communications Manager, Workone Northern Indiana, Region 2

WorkOne officials announce results from employment-skills competitions among Northern Indiana youth during the inaugural Jobs for America’s Graduates Out-Of-School Career Development Conference, held April 29, in Plymouth.

Winning from Kosciusko County were:

Alexis Standley with professional JAG Specialist Paul Pegues, placed second in career presentation. Standley also won first in JAG Ambassador competition and professionalism award.

Winning from Elkhart County were:

Alfonso Avelar, with JAG specialist Amy Gonzalez won first in career presentation.

Elkhart OOS with Gonzalez won first in chapter service learning, binder

Paris Moore, with Gonzalez and Elkhart OOS won first in cover design.

Kaitlynn White won second in the JAG Ambassador competition.

Winning from Fulton County were:

Burket Alternative Education, under JAG specialist Richard Petre, from the Tippecanoe Valley School Corp., won first in Chapter Banner.

Kylah Decrow, with Petre, Burket A.E., won second in employability skills

Fundamentally, the overall purpose of CDC is to enable young participants to develop confidence and skills growth by showcasing their abilities — thus strengthening communication and other skills developed via JAG’s process of thoughtful engagement by professional specialists.

At its core, WorkOne’s JAG program focuses on helping at-risk youth strengthen their decision-making, life- and employability-skills sufficient to enter, compete and succeed in a workforce or post-secondary education.

To reach this skill-level, each participant in the Out-of-School (OOS) program (ages 16-to-21) invests thought, energy and curiosity in JAG’s curriculum as well as partici-pating in community service and other activities, including job shadowing, internships, college visits and the Region 2 Out-of-School CDC.

WorkOne operates a similar program for in-school youth, and the con-ference for in-school JAG students was held Feb. 5, 2015, at the Lerner Theater in Elkhart, and Feb. 13 at Warsaw High School.

“The CDC is a competitive event in order to accomplish vital elements necessary for young people to strengthen their skills and decision-making capabilities, including thorough preparation as well as feeling pressures of a simulated workplace,” said Chuck Knebl, WorkOne Region 2 communications manager. “Officials are pleased with skills growth that occurred for students when they tasted a bit of employment duties and pressures, allowing them to glimpse and feel future situations they will face.”

In each career-development category, students competed under published scoring protocols, and they were judged by professionals from Northern Indiana economic sectors such as education, government, economic development, human resources and social services. Work-One’s professional JAG specialists are integral to skills growth that students experience; they provide instruction in classrooms yet also influence youth by wearing the following hats: mentor, counselor, life-coach, listener, advisor and skills-trainer.

WorkOne officials have learned that professionals have remarkably strong and positive influences on Northern Indiana youth. These heart-warming impacts occur when professionals engage youth by judging CDC competitions, thereby providing exciting “real world” experiences for young people. Officials have been thrilled by both rapid and substantial skills growth that youth typically absorb during simulated workplace tasks — especially vital feedback from professionals.

To learn more visit www.gotoworkone.com