Michigan works came to the Kent Transition Center to help our students understand how to use the www.mitalentconnect.org portal to find available jobs within the state of Michigan. Mr. Josh Adderholt came from the Michigan Works office located on Straight St. in Grand Rapids, MI to talk to our students and to help me walk them through the process of enrolling and beginning to search for jobs using the website.
Mr. Adderholt sent me the presentation and paper materials prior to his presentation so I could walk the students through the enrollment process. Mr. Adderholt talked about what Michigan Works does for job seekers, mentioned additional services in Grand Rapids they should know about, helped walk students through the enrollment process, and even showed them how to search for jobs posted on the portal.
Some of the additional information that Mr. Adderholt informed them helped them answer questions that were given to them during my class. Since we try to prepare students for working in entry-level positions and help them take the step into adulthood, we prepare them with showing them where and how to look for jobs, making a resume, and interviewing for the jobs they want. Many of our students know what they should wear to an interview but are unable to afford the cost of a proper dress outfit. Mr. Adderholt informed students about how Jubilee Jobs in Grand Rapids will provide people with students if they need one. It was really amazing.
Overall, it was great to have Michigan Works come to KTC and tell the students about what they can do for them. Many of our students are scared about the future and are so accustomed to depending on an adult for help. Thanks to places such as this, the students can get some assistance but also start working independently to find the jobs that they want in life.
Reflection:
It was very hard to get Mr. Adderholt to come in for 4 days in one week. I think we may want to require this as a guest speaker session and have the teachers schedule him to come in when they have time. I could prepare the students to have their information written down on their paperwork he would provide ahead of time so that it would go faster. I also believe that there may be a need to do a coordinated effort to use both Career Cruising and it's features such as looking for jobs or training around the areas in which they live as well as having them look for jobs with Michigan Works. I think I would also need to get with the Michigan Works presenter ahead of time so that he can incorporate our speaker questions into his presentation. He also brought along Mr. Cason (a worker in youth services) who also talked to the students. It would be great to bring him in as a guest speaker to talk about the services that Michigan Works provides to students to help prepare them for adulthood such as anger management, managing behaviors, etc.
Links for more information:
Jubilee Jobs
Michigan Works--Straight Street--GR
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