Accord Community First, a nonprofit organization, has been awarded a $520,000 grant from Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network to provide educational training for youth 18 to 21 within the utility and retail industries.
Based upon industry focus groups, conversations with utility employers and research, Accord Board Chairman Larry Uyeda said, “Over the next three to five years, 35 percent of the workforce in the utility industry will have hundreds of baby-boomers retiring. This creates a critical need for a qualified workforce. Opportunities for jobs with excellent salaries and benefits that will support a family and help buy a home and jobs that will not be outsourced to offshore locations will be available. We must be ready to fill these positions with well trained and qualified employees. Accord’s programming will provide youth with the requisite education and skills that will enable them to become self-sufficient and responsible members of the greater Long Beach community.”
As an educational, workforce and economic development nonprofit that provides educational and training programs in high-growth industries, Accord collaborates with industry and labor directly, playing an important role in ensuring quality outcomes. Accord’s diverse pool of applicants that graduate from the program are assisted with placement into career-ladder, high-growth jobs with living wages. Promoting cooperation, collaboration and linkages is Accord’s strategy for achieving its mission— to continue to build strong public and private partnerships that create strategic long-term solutions that shape the workforce and generate a robust economy.
Accord will host its 2008-2009 kick-off and sponsor recognition reception tonight from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the Long Beach Hilton Hotel (Catalina Room, Hilton Hotel at One World Trade Center. RSVP by calling (562) 901-3081 ext. 322 or email tonyh@accordnow.org.
To learn more about Accord Community First, call Tony Hord at (562) 901-3081 The Community First Long Beach Office is located at One World Trade Center, Suite 1155 in Long Beach.
