Building Local Business Strengthening LA’s Workforce

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News for the Week of December 31, 2018

RE-ENTRY YOUTH FINISH CONSTRUCTION APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING PROGRAM In late December 2018, the latest cohort of the Compass Rose Collaborative (CRC) completed their five-week Reentry Apprenticeship Training Program. The group completed more than 160 hours of hands on training and obtained OSHA30, CPR, forklift, and Pre-Apprentice Certification. Participants were treated to a catered lunch sponsored by So-Cal Burgers Chill & Grill, along with proclamations from Assemblyman Miguel Santiago. The youth participants, ages 18 to 24, are screened and recruited to be engaged in an intensive career pathway training program at one of LA’s local community colleges. In late June 2018, the City of Los Angeles was one of three cities awarded a grant from the US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (DOL-ETA) for the CRC young adult re-entry program. EWDD’s YouthSource Centers are continuing to work hard to help LA’s youth gain access to similar programs. EWDD’s Boyle Heights Technology YouthSource Center has offered access to the program since November 2017.

Building Local Business Strengthening LA’s Workforce

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Career Coach Jessica Fuentes (left) stands beside WorkSource client Elsy Sanchez, posing with new work clothes to wear to her new job 10 minutes away from home.

VERNON-CENTRAL/LATTC WSC HELPS JOB SEEKER FIND WORK AT 99 CENT STORE The Vernon-Central/Los Angeles Trade-Technical College WorkSource Center helped Elsy

Sanchez successfully find employment at a local 99 cents store after she was out of work for more than a year. One of Elsy’s main barriers to employment was that she does not have a car and relies heavily on public transportation. She is also illiterate in her native language and is afraid to navigate the city’s transportation system to unfamiliar places. Elsy began working closely with Career Coach Jessica Fuentes and the pair began submitting applications that focused on local job openings. Elsy quickly gained employment at a local 99 cents store that is a short 10-minute bus ride from her home. Elsy also received supportive services for new work clothes in order to help her transition back into employment. The Vernon-Central/LATTC WorkSource Center is run by EWDD partner Coalition for Responsible Community Development

(CRCD). “Come to this center and seek help,” Elsy said to other job seekers. “You are not alone.”

Building Local Business Strengthening LA’s Workforce

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HARBOR BSC HELPS TRUCK BUSINESS OBTAIN $414K SBA LOAN, ADD 10 JOBS The Harbor Region BusinessSource Center helped entrepreneur Artemio Benitez obtain a $414,000 Small Business Administration loan for his business Portside Used Truck Sales, Inc., providing him cash flow that allowed him to hire 10 new employees. Artemio approached the Harbor BusinessSource Center requesting a $400,000 short term loan to purchase inventory and pay off his high-cost credit. The Harbor Region BSC conducted a financial analysis and determined that bypassing Artemio’s current credit line with a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan would increase the profitability of each of Portside’s transactions by approximately 30 percent, increase its profit margin, and also allow the business to expand at a much faster rate. The financial analysis also determined that the company met the loan requirements and a loan package was submitted to a lender. A $414,000 SBA loan was approved and funded in 2018. Since the funding, the cash flow generated by this loan has allowed Artemio to hire 10 new employees.

Building Local Business Strengthening LA’s Workforce

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BUSINESS METRICS: DUE TO HOLIDAY BSC CLOSURES, FIGURES ARE NOT AVAILABLE

LABSCs Reporting: North Valley, West Valley, South Valley, South LA, East LA, Mid City, Central West, Hollywood and Harbor

Microenterprise enrolled N/A

Microenterprise assisted N/A

Small businesses enrolled N/A

Small businesses assisted N/A

Number of BSC clients who attended workshops N/A WORKFORCE METRICS: (arrows indicate weekly trend)

CalJobs (online and mobile) WorkSource Centers

781 Registrations

353 Enrollments

45%

50%

"Updates" is the weekly report from the EWDD Interim General Manager to the Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti, and is produced by EWDD’s communications section. If you have questions, comments or wish to have a contribution considered for an upcoming "Updates," please contact Jamie Francisco at (213) 744-9048 or Jamie.Francisco@lacity.org