MontcoWorks NOW

Happy New Year to our LinkedIn Community! We are excited to start 2025 off on a positive note with a quote from Nico for this month's installment of the MontcoWorks NOW (MWN) Inspiration Station. Nico originally came to the MWN program with the intention of completing CDL training. After speaking with a former MWN participant who was working as a commercial truck driver, he decided to explore additional career fields. He connected with several employers through job shadows and got hands-on experience through our paid work experience (PWE) opportunity. After attending a job shadow at the Montgomery County IT department, he was able to start a PWE with their team. He enrolled in IT Support Bootcamp training through Techworks which was fully funded by the MWN program. After completing the training and paid work experience, he was offered full time employment with the Montgomery County IT department. Nico capitalized on all of the career exploration opportunities available to him and found a career that was the right fit for him. We are so proud of his hard work throughout his time in the program! 

Hi everyone! We are excited to share Volume 16 of the MCIU Career Connections newsletter. Our team has supported youth through internships, pre-apprenticeships and all sorts of career-based experiences. We are so proud of their hard work and hope you take some time to read our newsletter and learn some more about the services we offer. On behalf of the MontcoWorks NOW team, we wish you a happy holidays! Stay tuned for more from MWN in the new year. https://lnkd.in/ge3yT5q8

Trevor came to the MontcoWorks NOW Program looking to earn his commercial driver's license. We were able to connect him to training at the North Montco Technical Career Center that was funded through our program at no cost to Trevor. We are happy to share a quote from Trevor for this month's installment of the MontcoWorks NOW Inspiration Station. He is making big strides in his career as a commercial truck driver, and we are so proud of him for taking the next step to start his own company! We hope you will be inspired by Trevor's success and our commitment to supporting the future of our workforce.

This past Thursday, the MontcoWorks NOW program held our first ever Financial Reality Fair thanks to partnership with the Police and Fire Federal Credit Union and PA CareerLink® Montgomery County. Financial literacy education is one of the 14 program elements established through our funding from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and this event was a great opportunity to connect with our participants on this topic. The financial reality fair is a unique experience that helps youth learn about budgeting and managing their finances. This is an important life skill that goes hand in hand with workforce education. Participants were given a yearly salary and credit score based on their desired education level. They went to different stations and incurred expenses for items like clothing, transportation and housing. Then they totaled up their expenses and met with a financial advisor to see how they did. We are so grateful to all who helped make the event a success. Our clients enjoyed the event and learned some great budgeting skills!

Happy Friday and welcome to our first installment of the MontcoWorks NOW Inspiration Station! Every month we will be sharing a quote from an MWN participant about their time in our program. We hope you will be inspired by our commitment to supporting youth and the future of our workforce.

We had a great time volunteering at the Careers of Tomorrow Student Expo. It is such an awesome opportunity for our students to connect with employers and grow their workforce network. Can't wait for Careers of Tomorrow 2025!

MontcoWorks NOW participants have been putting in the work to meet their career goals this Spring. Read all about the awesome work experiences, trainings and activities that our participants have been attending in the MCIU Career Connections newsletter. We are so proud of all their hard work! https://lnkd.in/equgkydq

On May 15th, the MontcoWorks NOW cohort who participated in the Real World Leaders training and radio show recording received an exclusive invite and attended the Real World Leaders CEO Reunion at Yards Brewing in Philadelphia. Participants networked with dozens of Philadelphia area CEO’s and business leaders in person and made valuable connections in their fields of interest, including the Associate Vice President of Member Experience for Jefferson Health Plans that the participants interviewed on the radio show in April. In addition, participants were able to share the program’s impact on camera and speak to their individual experiences. MontcoWorks NOW will continue to participate in the Real World Leaders program as the next cohort begins in June. Thanks to Kat K. and Real World Leaders for an awesome experience!

Our MontcoWorks NOW participants have been busy lately. We have had seven participants enroll in and successfully complete training opportunities and thirteen participants start a paid work experience. Read about that and more in our February edition of the MCIU Career Connections newsletter. https://lnkd.in/eUH6u_Vy #careerreadiness