1. Davis Jenkins Senior Fellow, Great Cities Institute University of Illinois at Chicago Tel: (312)996-8059 E-mail: davis@uic.edudavis@uic.edu MPC Forum on Building Successful Mixed-Income Communities Jobs, Training and Workforce Development July 12, 2005 High-Impact Employment Services to Support Successful Mixed Income Communities

2. Realities at the Low End of the Labor Market Chronically unemployed individuals will cycle through numerous jobs before becoming stably employed – often need socialization to culture of work as a first step Work alone usually does not lead to job advancement for low-wage workers; some job-connected training needed to advance to jobs paying family-supporting wages Low-wage workers often have to change jobs, even industries, to advance to family-supporting jobs High-impact employment services address both the needs and circumstances of job seekers/workers and the business needs of employers (e.g., recruitment, retention)

3. High-Quality Employment Services Full Menu of Services  Marketing and recruitment  Employment-related assessment and counseling  Job placement and retention support  Transitional jobs  Bridge training programs  Postsecondary education and training  Support services (housing, day care, transportation, drug treatment, family counseling, etc.)

4. High-Quality Employment Services Industries with Job Opportunities for CHA Clients  Employment agencies  Non-profits  Hospitals, long-term care and other health care providers  Retail  Security  Hotels, restaurants  Manufacturing, transportation, and logistics  City contractors (Section III)

5. High-Quality Employment Services Stakeholder Education and Engagement  Public housing residents and clients  Business community (including developers)  City, state and federal agencies  Service Providers  Foundations  Press and the public

6. Suggestions for CHA Research employers’ human resource needs and customize services accordingly Use transitional jobs to socialize hard-core unemployed to culture of work Invest heavily in work readiness preparation prior to placement and job coaching to promote retention Provide job-connected training at CHA sites Provide drug treatment and other services on-site Reach out to youth and men under 25 Collect data on outcomes and use to improve services