Alyssa Byrd, the president of the Chatham Economic Development Corporation, is working with Vicki Newell and her team from Chatham Literacy to provide free courses to help provide skills enhancement to those working to increase their employability. In this Q&A, Byrd discusses the collaboration and the classes.
How did this partnership come about?
Chatham Literacy received a grant from PNC Bank to conduct workforce soft skills training. As we have settled into a “new reality,” we realized it was more necessary than ever to deliver a brief training on job skills enhancement. In thinking innovatively about how to deliver this training, Chatham Literacy reached out to us at the Chatham Economic Development Corporation and NCWorks Career Center as logical partners who work with businesses and with workforce development programs.
How does Chatham Literacy benefit?
We have all had to adjust our programming and services in response to coronavirus and new community needs. Non-profit organizations are no exception. This effort allows us to deliver relevant and useful information to anyone in the labor force. The goal is to enhance overall employability and the development of essential leadership skills.
In addition, this training is a natural fit for Chatham Literacy since they offer life skills literacy services to prepare adults for the expectations and norms in today’s society and workplace.
What can you say about each of the sessions?
All of the sessions are tailored to help people enhance skills that are transferrable to any workplace. The topics were influenced by the feedback we received on our annual industry survey and on Chatham Literacy’s countywide literacy needs assessment, and help enhance key skills like teamwork, professionalism and networking.
They include:
Training sessions are from 6-7 p.m. on these dates:
To register, enter the link https://bit.ly/2B0xTgG, visit www.chathamliteracy.org or call Chatham Literacy at 919-742-0578.
Do you have to attend all the sessions?
Individuals can select which programs to attend, but we are encouraging everyone to attend all four sessions to receive a training certificate. Individuals will be eligible to win a $25 grocery or restaurant gift card at the end of each session. An additional $25 gift card will be available among those who attended the four sessions. All of the meetings will be in English and held virtually on Zoom.
Will they be recorded?
The plan is to deliver the content monthly for the next four months. We think the best way to have impact is to allow for an interactive experience, which is hard to achieve with recordings.
What can participants expect?
Participants can expect a thoughtful program for each course, and delivery of content that is relevant for today’s workplace and to employers in Chatham County.
Who’s doing the training?
The training is being conducted by Chatham Literacy and NCWorks, a program of the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
For more information, go to https://bit.ly/2B0xTgG.