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Call Center Training Program Earns 2007 Workplace Skills Award

Goodwill Partnership with Human Services and Local Industry Key to Success

June 26, 2007

Rockville, MD — Moving individuals off the welfare rolls and meeting the growing need for qualified call center employees are dual goals of a job training program of Goodwill Industries of South Central California (Bakersfield) that recently earned the 2007 Workplace Skills Award from Goodwill Industries International.

Two partners are key to the program’s success. Kern County Department of Human Services identifies welfare recipients who demonstrate the desire to move off of welfare and into full-time, unsubsidized employment, and refers them to Goodwill for enrollment in the training program. Bright House Networks, a large cable television service provider, furnishes the call center environment for participants to gain real-world work experience while they also learn basic office and computer skills including business writing, customer service, introduction to Microsoft Windows programs and the Internet.

These partners were also instrumental in conceiving the program. The deputy director of the county’s Department of Human Services and the human resources director for Bright House Network were members of the Workforce Development Committee of the Goodwill’s Board of Directors. They suggested a collaborative effort built upon the strengths of the partner agencies and one that would allow them to share the benefits and financial costs equally.

“The strength of this program is that individuals with poor work histories, limited education and few marketable skills are given technical training in a real-world setting,” says George W. Kessinger, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “This combination puts people with past barriers to success on a level playing field with other job candidates.”

In 2006, 17 individuals completed the program and 10 were placed in competitive employment, including positions at Bright House Networks.

The Workplace Skills Award is given to a Goodwill program that provides exemplary services to people with disabilities and others with barriers to employment. It recognizes, rewards and shares best practices for carrying out the first strategy of the Goodwill Industries 21st Century Initiative: to prepare people with special needs for the 21st century workforce.