Only a few months ago Adam Dierzen and Andrew Paul were unemployed. Both had lacked the kind of job skills that would help them find a well-paying job. Their future looked uncertain until they connected with Joliet Junior College's Grundy Workforce Services (GWS) in Morris, Illinois. They applied for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funding under the Building a Regional Skilled Workforce grant. Shortly after, they began training for a new career in as either a forklift or truck driver in the logistics industry offered through JJC's Driving America's Green Products on the Road and in the Warehouse Training Program.
"I was on unemployment for four months," said Adam Dierzen from Morris who recently completed JJC's program. Prior to his unemployment, Dierzen was a cashier for about 18 months. For a while, he tried to find a better job, but without experience or proper qualifications he came up empty. When he lost his position and applied for unemployment, he was told about the WIA program and used the grant funds to enroll in JJC's Forklift/CDL program.
During his training, a trucking company owner visited the CDL school hoping to find a few drivers. Dierzen happened to walk in on a conversation between the business owner and Bill Burns, JJC's CDL coordinator. "I walked into the classroom and met my future boss, not knowing he would be my future boss, and found that he liked my personality and incentive to work," said Dierzen who started his new job about a week after graduating from the CDL program. "I have now been working at my new job for a month and am making great pay."
JJC's Community and Economic Development (CED) administered the "Building a Regional Skilled Workforce" grant awarded in February 2010. "This was a great opportunity for our division to work together and submit a grant to provide a quality training program that will benefit the residents of Grundy County with immediate job placement" said Amy Murphy, director, Corporate and Community Services.
The WIA grant of $70,000 used to provide training for twelve dislocated workers that reside in Grundy County. Grundy Workforce Services serves as the college's primary provider for recruitment and eligibility. The participants first followed WIA eligibility procedures as well as met all guidelines as established by the State of Illinois regarding entry into a professional truck driving course. The program is held at JJC's Weitendorf Agricultural Education Facility in Joliet. The program can be completed in 6 weeks covering 270 course hours with little or no commercial driving and/or industrial power lift truck experience. The school works with many companies that will pre-hire students.
Many of the grant recipients were affected by major plant closings in 2009-2010 throughout the Grundy County area. JJC Grundy Workforce Staff visited the companies and offered employment and education services. Interested employees pursued services by attending orientation and career research workshops offered weekly through the Morris office.
Another example of how the WIA/JJC partnership can change lives is Andrew Paul, Morris resident. "Before I got the WIA grant," said Paul, "I moved furniture." Paul did that for about ten years. Later, he worked as a machine operator until he got laid-off. "I heard about the WIA program through a friend who is currently going to school for nursing."
Paul used WIA funds to enroll in the JJC's CDL/forklift program. Within two weeks after completing the program, he was hired. "I got the job about two weeks after I finished school," said Paul. "The CDL school showed me everything I needed to know about driving a truck: from mapping and planning my routes to shifting gears properly and doing maintenance. I use what I learned everyday I'm at work."
Griselda Martinez, office manager for JJC's Grundy Workforce Services, and Melissa Pilch, Workforce Development Coordinator, were instrumental in helping Paul and Dierzen apply for WIA funding and choose the kind of training they wanted. "I was happy to help them," said Martinez. "It is very rewarding to see people come into our center for the first time not knowing what to do and a few weeks later, find themselves working and earning a good living."
Both Dierzen and Paul are grateful to JJC Grundy Workforce Services and for the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) grant. "Without the grant," said Dierzen, I would not have found a stable well-paying job...great opportunity."
Paul agrees. Speaking about the WIA program he said, "I would recommend the WIA program to anyone who is laid-off and not sure of what to do next. It was the best choice I ever made."
To learn more about the Joliet Junior College programs that qualify for WIA funding, or about how this program works, call Griselda Martinez at (815) 942-0566, ext 41122, or -mail gmartine@jjc.edu. You can also visit the website at www.grundyworkforce.com or www.jjc.edu.
This program is funded by (or in part by) the Grundy Livingston Kankakee Workforce Board.
All programs are Equal Opportunity Employer Programs, and auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.