MEDIA ADVISORY
Friday, July 9, 2004

Contact Information: Karen Ann McCarthy

USDOL Awards $500,000 for the “Opening Doors” Program in Hartford & New Britain
Capital Workforce Partners & Capit0l Region Education Council awarded grant to assist underserved neighborhoods.

Hartford-The United States Department of Labor has awarded a $500,000 “Opening Doors” grant to Capital Workforce Partners (CWP).  Opening Doors is an innovative effort building the capacity of smaller community-based organizations (CBOs) and faith-based organizations (FBOs). Both the CBOs and FBOs will serve as mini-CTWorks One-Stop career centers in Hartford and New Britain. 

“This grant award is a strategic response to two critical workforce development challenges. We need to make employment services more accessible to job seekers who speak limited or no English, and we need to make sure the smaller service providers offer high quality core employment services to those with language barriers,” said Thomas Phillips, CWP President and CEO.  “The Opening Doors grant would not have been possible without the hard work of U.S. Representatives John Larson and Nancy Johnson,” added Phillips.

The goal is to place 250 low-income residents in retail-based employment.  So far partnerships have been developed with the Connecticut Retail Merchants Association, the Connecticut Convention Center and ShopRite of Manchester. These three retail-based employers represent a high-demand service sector in the Hartford and New Britain areas.

In addition to assisting local job seekers, the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) will provide local CBOs and FBOs with specialized training to staff to build long-term organizational growth. The goal is to make the CBO’s and FBO’s in Hartford and New Britain part of the larger CTWorks One-Stop system. 

About the CTWorks One-Stop Career Centers
At the CTWorks One-Stop Career Centers, jobseekers receive assistance with finding a job through workshops, career guidance, and access to occupational skills training. Employers can also receive assistance in recruiting, screening and hiring new employees through the Business Services Unit. The CTWorks One-Stop Career Centers are made possible through a partnership between CWP and the CT Department of Labor. Other centers in the4 region include those in Hartford, East Hartford, New Britain, Bristol and Manchester.