Putting DC residents on a pathway to self-sufficiency and solid careers was the topic of discussion at Wednesday’s Foundations for the Future training, sponsored by DC’s Workforce Investment Council (WIC), and attended by the Community Services Agency (CSA) staff and other local non-profits and training providers. The focus was on the DC workforce system's efforts to provide employers with the qualified workers they need, as well as comprehensive services to workers to help them into pathways for career and salary advancement. Held at the Community College of the University of DC, the training offered networking opportunities with one of DC's Deputy Mayors, Courtney R. Snowden, and the heads of the Departments of Employment Services, Social Services, Rehabilitation Services, State Superintendent of Education and other workforce partners. CSA, a multi-year beneficiary of a WIC training grant, runs one of DC’s most proven construction pre-apprenticeship programs, Building Futures, offering a path into self-sufficiency for DC residents seeking careers in the construction industry. The program, now in its 10th year, graduates nearly 95% of its students and places them into construction careers and union “earn-while-you-learn”apprenticeships.
photo: Building Futures program Coordinator Sylvia Casaro-Dietert, CSA Assistant Executive Director Matt Losak; photo by Kathleen McKirchy
photo: Building Futures program Coordinator Sylvia Casaro-Dietert, CSA Assistant Executive Director Matt Losak; photo by Kathleen McKirchy