Improved math, reading will better chances of employment

Sometimes getting a job requires training in the basics.The Workforce Development Center, a new project offered at the Northside Association for Community Development in cooperation with Kalamazoo Valley Community College, will offer such training.Mattie Jordan-Woods, the NACD’s executive director, says she knows skilled technicians in automotive mechanics and other trades who lack the basic math and reading skills to gain certification in those professions.  In the one-year pilot program, participants will learn about a variety of jobs and what it requires to apply for them. They will determine their existing skills and what skills they need to better qualify for employment. They also will be able to create a customized learning program for each student.Participants will be able to learn at their own pace and one-on-one tutoring will be available. “It will get people on the path to a job,” Jordan-Woods says. “For people to work themselves out of a low-income or poverty situation, they need to have solid math, writing and reading skills.”William Willging from the M-TEC of KVCC will oversee the project.Two tutors will be based at the NACD, located at 612 N. Park St., to provide one-on-one, computer-based instructions that will raise the basic mathematics and reading skills of neighborhood residents.The training is free to all participants. It is funded by a $7,000 grant from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.      KVCC President Marilyn Schlack says she sees the Workforce Development Center as a stepping stone to what is being envisioned in the evolving Arcadia Commons West concept for the redevelopment of downtown Kalamazoo, and a positive influence on adjacent Kalamazoo-core neighborhoods.Among the missions of the NACD are job creation, neighborhood revitalization, and financial independence for residents. Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Tom Thinnes, Kalamazoo Valley Community College