ANC WORK Program—A Collaborative Effort to Build a Workforce

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Arkansas Northeastern College is reviving a successful program from the 1990s to help address current and future workforce demands in the region. Workforce Orientation & Retraining Keys (WORK) is a sixty clock hour program designed to lift under-skilled local residents living in poverty out of poverty and, simultaneously, advance economic development by expanding the local workforce. 

American Greetings in Osceola has also shown its support of the WORK Program—Workforce 
Orientation and Retraining Keys, now available through Arkansas Northeastern College. American 
Greetings Human Resource Manager David Oakes (L) presents ANC President Dr. James
Shemwell with a $5,000 check for the WORK Program.

“Through industry and community support, this program will reach out and find people who currently are not supporting themselves and give them the opportunity to learn the skills to be productive in the workforce.  Not only is the WORK Program free to participants, it also incorporates an incentive pay to the students as long as they continue to meet the demands of the program, including showing up for each class on time,” said Dr. James Shemwell, President of Arkansas Northeastern College. Shemwell noted that WORK is one of several initiatives that the College has underway to address present and future workforce needs locally.

According to Shemwell, WORK will provide individuals with the necessary skills and support network to access economic opportunity. Community mentors will work with each WORK participant throughout the 8 weeks of training and extending until the participant has successfully maintained employment for 90 days. 

Kagome Creative Foods in Osceola donates $5,000 to the newly reinstated WORK Program—a
program designed to prepare under-skilled , unemployed residents for the workforce.
(L to R)  Kagome Plant Manager Charlie Simons and Human Resources Manager Nita Reams
present a check to ANC President Dr. James Shemwell.

WORK participants will have the opportunity to earn participant incentives up to $300 during training to help remove barriers to employment, such as funds to purchase work clothes or specialized footwear. Completers of the WORK program will have the opportunity to obtain a certificate of WORK completion, a 10-hour OSHA certificate, an American Heart Association CPR card, a Career Readiness Certificate (CRC), and job interview opportunities with local employers.

WORK represents a comprehensive partnership effort among Arkansas Northeastern College, the Great River Economic Development Foundation, the Mississippi County Equal Opportunity Commission, area industries, community and faith-based leaders, and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. 

“We’ve been fortunate to have the support of the community and many of our local industries,” added Shemwell who said that employer partners were still being sought for the program which is expected to enroll students later this month. By investing $5,000 for program seed money to launch the program, employer partners will enjoy interview priority with program graduates, as well as access to the class and students during the program. To sustain the program’s viability into the future, employers will be asked to contribute $750 to the WORK program for each WORK graduate hired by that employer, a “pay-as-you-go” approach. “After their initial investment of seed money, employers only will be asked to contribute pro rata as they realize value from the program through actual hires made,” said Shemwell.

The WORK course, to be offered both in Blytheville and Osceola, will be made available at no cost to participating trainees. Douglas Echols, most recently an ANC Career Coach at Osceola High School, has been selected as the WORK Coordinator. Those interested in the WORK program can contact the ANC Harry L. Crisp Center at 763-6222.

Submitted by Rachel Gifford

Associate Vice President for Development and College Relations

Arkansas Northeastern College

870.838.2902

rgifford@smail.anc.edu 

Arkansas Northeastern College is a proud member of the Osceola/South Mississippi County Chamber of Commerce.