America Works and Rep. Bowen: Host one of the largest employment events of the year

Contact:
Tatiana Constantinople
America Works
917.371.9705

David Bowen
State Representative, 10th Assembly District
608.266.7671

March 30th – America Works, a national workforce development company, and Representative David Bowen along with more than one hundred local employers organized one of the largest transportation employment events within the city.

The event held at North Division High School was free and open to all job seekers interested in employment within the transportation industry. Local employers included Enterprise Holdings, Pepsico, United States Postal Service, Roehl Transport Inc. and UPS among many others.

“The transportation industry has one of the highest labor-demands in Wisconsin, and I’m proud to help bring hundreds of living-wage career opportunities to job-seekers in my district and in an area of the city with high unemployment and incredible potential,” said Rep. David Bowen, who represents the area in the State Assembly.

“We have made great strides in finding meaningful employment for our participants. We believe that this event will spark even more opportunity within our city. In many cases this is the start of relationships between employers and job seekers. We will be there to assist each job seekers so that they find the right job,” said America Works of Wisconsin Director Carlyle Outten.

The event began with a panel discussion on the current state of the transportation industry and employment in Milwaukee, where participants heard from community leaders and elected officials including Secretary Department of Children and Family Eloise Anderson, State Representative Bowen, who is a members of the Transportation Committee, Neal Kedzie, President Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association and America Works Director Carlyle Outten.

Following the panel, job seekers met directly with employers, shared resumes and made connections for future meetings.

A number of service providers were also present to help individuals during the job-hunting process. Insurance companies were on hand to speak on the requirements of being successfully insured before obtaining a job, along with vendors which assist with paying fines and cleaning driving records. Professional attire specialists offered free consultations and clothing with the help of hundreds of donations. Licensing specialists and child-care providers were also available to ease the transition back to the workforce.

For many job seekers, the event served as the first step in finding meaningful employment. They were equipped with additional knowledge on how to obtain an even greater number of services available at America Works, including small-group training, education and customized care.

America Works of Wisconsin, Inc.
Since 1984, America Works has placed more than 500,000 hard-to-place individuals into the workforce, including military veterans, long-term welfare and food stamp recipients, former criminal offenders, people who are homeless and living in shelters, youths aging out of foster care, non-custodial parents, people living with HIV/AIDS, and people receiving Social Security Insurance/Social Security Disability Insurance.