Hello, my name is Joe Owen and my story goes like this... I came stumbling into Hopeworks with hair down to my shoulders, basketball shorts on, and feeling frustrated and fed up with working manual labor jobs. I started the training in March and completed it in just two months. In my short time with the program, Hopeworks helped me grow in numerous ways.
Throughout my time at Hopeworks, I had a lot of fun with the training, business exploration trips, and motivational talks. The mock interviews helped me prepare for the real thing. The outstanding mentors guided me with making decisions and helped me take my resume to the next level. The trip to Seer Interactive was a pivotal moment which led me to land an IT job. The exceptional speakers that came in gave me hope and motivation to keep on fighting, even when the journey was hard.
Finding Hopeworks was a life-changing event for me. They helped me build up confidence and develop professional skills. Hopeworks even helped me by giving me the suit that I wore when I landed my current position as a Repair Technician at Burlington Coat Factory. It is a 3-month contract to hire at this point, but I got my foot in the door now and I feel like my life is finally on track.
In this series, Michelle Cheang, director of Catalyze, sat down with alumni and current participants of Catalyze-supported career-connected learning programs. Through in-depth conversations, Michelle and the learners discuss their experiences, growth and career goals. In the following videos, we'll hear directly from EJ Garcia, a learner at Hopeworks, about how he has developed his career […]
This episode of The Water Online Show focuses on the water industry's workforce shortage. Hopeworks, a training organization, is addressing this challenge by partnering with utilities like American Water. Hopeworks identifies employer needs, trains young professionals, and places them in well-suited roles. This innovative approach is helping to bridge the skills gap and ensure a […]
Grace Manning leads a program helping land young professionals work at companies like Subaru. Grace Manning is director of employer and alumni relations at Hopeworks, a nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia and South New Jersey, offering workforce development programs to young adults. Through training programs, paid internships, and placement services with local employers, Hopeworks helps young, diverse […]
