Workforce DEVELOPMENT

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Finding a job is about information. Getting a job is about who you know and what you’ve done. Keeping a job is about what you know and whether you can be trusted. Studies show that more than half of crimes committed by minorities in urban communities ages 16 to 38 are in some capacity related to the direct pursuit of money. Studies also show that once employed, the more money a person from this category makes, the less likely that person is to commit an initial crime or (if a former offender) re-offend.   

The GRAAFICS workforce development team offers employment services like no other program in the city. We do this through a uniquely customized four step approach that starts with education & training and ends with a career- almost guaranteed.

Step One: Education & Training
Because we know that education is the key to independence. After receiving their independence action plan, GRAAFICS participants are mandatorily enrolled into and must actively participant in some form of approved formal education, higher education and/or training.  

Step Two: Finding Work
Work isn’t a job. Work is making day-to-day money without committing a crime. The ‘Finding Work’ step is a vital component to our employment service because, it eliminates idle time, it eliminates the immediate need for criminal activity by putting money into the pockets of those that may offend, and it fills idle time with day-to-day productivity. The ‘Finding Work’ component prepares the participant for a job.    

Step Three: Finding A Job
A job is the introduction to a career. The GRAAFICS Program helps its participants to understand that in order to grow to the point where they are making the kind of money that they feel they need, they must first accept the kind of money that workforce America says they are currently worth- and grow from there. GRAAFICS completely assesses each client’s employment history and places accordingly.

Step Four: Establishing A Career
At GRAAFICS, we take establishing a career seriously. We work with employers who know exactly who we are. Our employers know our program because many of them currently participate in our job readiness mock interview training, others have helped in the design of our Workforce Development Curriculum, and some are GRAAFICS donors & funders. Because they know us so well, in addition to trusting us to adequately prepare and send them career ready people, they refer us to other employers.   

Goal:  
The goal of the GRAAFICS Workforce Development Unit is to secure living wage career opportunities for GRAAFICS participants by applying a quasi personal approach to each case.  

Who Will Benefit From Completing This Course
Because our employment services are proven unique and individually customized, GRAAFICS only offers employment services to participants of The GRAAFICS Program.