On December 9, 2022, Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services, Inc. (CMJTS) held a legislative breakfast at River City Extreme in Monticello. Legislators were given the opportunity to hear success stories from individuals who have or are still participating in a CMJTS program. Four programs were highlighted including business services, youth, public assistance, and WIOA adult.

Rick Buyens, the owner of Distinctive Door Design, Inc. located in Princeton, Minnesota, talked about employee retention and work culture. The company was in the process of doubling its orders, but employees were exiting. They started with an employee survey which told them change was needed. Buyers worked with CMJTS business service coordinator, Rebecca Perrotti, to source training that would help mitigate this issue. Leadership training for management was selected, and the CMJTS Incumbent Worker Training Program was able to help reimburse a portion of the training cost. Staff were rewarded with a bonus as well as a pay increase after completing the training. Once completed, all employees were asked to complete a post-training survey. The culture improved, turnover was much lower, and the management team was more cohesive. Since the training, Distinctive Door Design has doubled its revenue and the number of employees.

Jenny Johnson, a single mom, came to CMJTS having no luck completing job applications or finding a job. CMJTS adult employment specialist, Emily Lentner, assisted with Johnson’s résumé and job search. With the help of some skills assessments, Johnson discovered what she had been interested in may not provide the best job security for her and her daughter. Johnson is now in the process of earning her teaching certificate. “This will make a huge difference in my life. It will provide security of employment for me and my daughter and will be very positive for her to see me progressing,” said Johnson. WIOA Adult Program funds assisted Johnson with the cost of her education, as well as guidance to set a path for success.

Kaleb Kuppa is a 19-year-old student attending Ridgewater College. While visiting Ridgewater College as a Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) high school student, Kuppa learned about the youth program at CMJTS. Youth employment specialist, Delina Woltjer, met with Kuppa who is currently pursuing a career as an LPN. Not only did CMJTS assist with tuition, but also with scrubs and transportation costs. Woltjer also assisted Kuppa in learning how to prioritize time to keep up with school assignments and also be involved in a variety of student activities.

Bridget Denery came to CMJTS through the MFIP program in Pine County as a single mom of three. After struggling through some tragic life events over ten years, Denery finally felt comfortable looking at her future career goals. Public assistance employment specialist, Joey Johnson, provided resources for Denery to examine career pathways. CMJTS was able to provide the cost of Denery’s education to become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). In addition, Denery had to overcome obstacles with her vehicle and household essentials, and CMJTS was able to assist with that as well. “It was a lot of hard work and I am very grateful for the program and constant reassurance from Joey Johnson,” said Denery.

CMJTS Success Story Panelists -

Operation Exploration – HANDS-ON Career Camps Are Back!

CMJTS was excited to once again host summer career exploration camps starting in the summer of 2021 in partnership with Mille Lacs Health System in Onamia and the Mille Lacs Band In the summer of 2022, four camps have already been held. Healthcare careers was the focus in Monticello.  Willmar held two camps -one in healthcare and one in the trades. The fourth was in Pine County located at the 49rs Union Training Center focusing on a variety of trades through partnership with additional Union Training Centers. A total of 50 youth have benefited so far through their participation. There will be one additional trades focused camp in Monticello to be held in late in July.

These camps would not have been possible without the dedication and passion of Youth Program Manager Diana Ristamaki, the youth team at CMJTS, and all of those who donated time, money, and resources. Please see the donor recognition flyer below for more details.

How do you know at a young age what you want to do? Opportunities for young people to experience different careers with hands-on activities are priceless. It allows youth to try out careers they may not have thought of or may help them avoid wasting tuition on a career that isn’t a fit for them.  Staff asked participants for their thoughts on the camp experience, and they shared the quotes below.

What were your favorite activities?

• “Dentistry – the mouth speech game nursing home – wheel chair thing, EMT – the carrier thing, and the recruiters that came to camp.”
• “Hydro dipping, auto-body, and simulation welding.”
• “I really enjoyed the hands-on activities. My favorite was when we were able to practice taking shots (IV) on the dummies (it was on the first day).” 

My favorite thing about camp; “Meeting new people. Those being new peers and valuable contacts for the future.” – youth participant

Would you recommend camp to another youth?

• “Yes, I really would tell that this is really fun and important info.”
• “Yes, I would recommend the camp to others so they can have the experience of seeing trade work sites and experience hands on with different trades.”
• “Yes, I recommend to others cause you meet people and do a bunch of cool stuff and get a lot of stuff.”
• “I would recommend to others because I think the camp will help people figure out more about the medical field (get to know what specific areas they would want to be in). It will also help those who are trying to explore different careers.”

Operation Exploration -

Hi! My name is Maria Garcia. I come from a small town called Willmar in Minnesota.  I am currently enrolled in the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program at Anoka Technical College. This fall semester I will be finishing up the second year of my degree and will hopefully be graduating in the Spring! After I graduate, I wish to pursue my degree by specializing in an area of occupational therapy such as mental health or geriatrics.  I would have not been able to go this far with my education if it wasn’t for CMJTS. As a first generation college student, it was hard for me to know where to find resources for school or how to fill out certain documents like the FAFSA. Sadly, these were all things that I was not able to ask my parents or siblings because I was the first one in my family of five to go to college. Thankfully, one of my cousins had heard of CMJTS and referred me to them. Since then all I can say is thank you for all the help CMJTS has given to me. Especially Delina Woltjer, my Youth Employment Specialist, who has helped me out since day one. I am forever grateful for everything you have helped me with and continue to help me with. Not only have your resources and advice influenced my life, but they have also changed the course of my family’s life. Now I will be able to help them with those difficult documents and refer them to resources like CMJTS. I cannot wait for them to one day be able to share their success as well!

Maria Garcia - Youth participant

Emma was a senior at Buffalo High School when she enrolled in WIOS IS program March 2019. She was working at Lake Ridge Care Center as a Care Attendant, living at a friend’s house temporarily, and did not have stable housing, or family support. Emma shared that she has a mental health diagnosis, is homeless, and is on the free lunch program. 

Emma did not know what she wanted to do for a career, and felt unsure about continuing to work in healthcare.  “I didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t have any money to go to college.” 

After talking to her school counselor at Buffalo HS, she was referred to the youth program at Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services. Once enrolled in the youth program, Emma did career exploration, took a career assessment, and researched healthcare careers. 

In April 2019 Emma took the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course at Anderson CNA/HHA Training Center with the funding assistance of the youth program and became a certified CNA/HHA. Emma graduated high school in May and started a fulltime overnight CNA position at the Monticello Hospital Geriatric Behavioral Health unit making $18 per hour.  

Emma was excited to be able to get her own apartment. She shared, “I am moving up because of my new job.” 

In January 2020, Emma started general education classes at North Hennepin Community College with a goal to start the RN program Fall 2020 semester. Emma is currently taking 15 credits and is able, and encouraged to, work on her college classes during the down time on her overnight shifts. She has been thankful for supportive assistance to help with transportations costs.  

Emma’s future goals include completing the 2-year RN program and exploring positions and other populations to serve as a nurse. When asked what she would share with others about the youth program, Emma said, “I tell everyone about your program. I wouldn’t have gone to college – you started my whole career!” 

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CMJTS’ Women-on-the-Move project focuses on serving women ages 16 and over, particularly women of color. The project will help women identify better-paying jobs in traditionally male-dominated professions (e.g. manufacturing-related careers, commercial driving), where their talents and interests will be put to good use. CMJTS is partnering with Ridgewater College customized training to provide a two-week course that offers an introduction to manufacturing and production occupations. The idea is to help women move from lower paid occupations with less opportunity (e.g. retail and hospitality) to traditionally male-dominated jobs with better hours, pay, benefits, and opportunities for advancement. We want our participants to see that there are good opportunities for women and that many women in our area can and do find success in production/manufacturing.

The two-week course will include overviews on a variety of manufacturing processes. Safety practices will also be emphasized. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to become certified in fork-lift operation. The program will include local manufacturing tours where participants can make real connections with local employers. These employers will provide trainees with facility tours, show them what their positions involve, and introduce them to other women who are working there and are happy with their jobs.

The Women-on-the-Move project will then help these women obtain the training necessary to enter these fields. Career coaching and mentorship will be provided by women already successful in nontraditional arenas and it is expected that at least half of the women served will also be enrolled in additional employment and training programs to help them achieve success.

The first cohort of trainees completed the program on February 21, 2020. Thirteen women completed the program successfully and eleven of them obtained the forklift certification. Two of the women obtained unsubsidized employment shortly after completion.

Women-on-the-Move - WESA grant

Despite having completed high school and graduating from Hutchinson’s Transition Assistance Program, an extended program for students with disabilities who require additional life skills training, Brock found himself largely unprepared for the working world. Aside from some minimal farm-related volunteer experience, he had no real employment history.

What Brock did have was a great deal of interest in the automotive industry. So, in the summer of 2019, his new employment specialist gave him an opportunity to explore that industry via a program-funded, 150 hour, paid work experience with a local auto repair shop – Car Shop, Inc. While things didn’t always go perfectly, for the most part, Brock performed very well. “I had fun working at the Car Shop and I learned a lot of new things I never knew before”, said Brock.

In addition to giving Brock more insight into the auto industry, this job gave Brock the chance to earn a professional reference. That reference, coupled with his new employment history, helped him land a part-time job at the local Walmart. Today, Brock stocks shelves and does some behind the scenes work in the store. He earns $11.50/hour, something that wouldn’t have been possible for him just a few months ago. Brock is looking forward to a brighter future, thanks to the opportunity provided to him by CMJTS and an understanding employer.

Brock - Youth

During the 2018-2019 school year, Alesha (age 15) was given the opportunity to receive Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) from Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services’ (CMJTS’) Youth Program. These Pre-ETS services, were designed to give high school students managing disabilities the chance to work with peer groups to explore careers, improve financial literacy, and develop both work readiness and self-advocacy skills.

Alesha became a top contributor in her Pre-ETS group and her employment specialist, Mel, quickly determined that she was ready to apply her skills on-the-job. While only 15, it was evident that Alesha was motivated and had a strong work ethic. Mel connected Alesha with the local food shelf and she was hired as a CMJTS work experience participant. While enjoying the rewards that come with earning a paycheck, Alesha gained real-life experience and developed a foundation of work skills to apply in the competitive workplace.

When asked about her job at the food shelf, Alesha said; “Working here, I feel I learned how to communicate with someone who doesn’t speak English that well and get them what they needed. I really like this program because now, when I apply somewhere else, I have a recommendation and experience working in a grocery store-type setting. If I didn’t get the work experience, I probably wouldn’t even have a job at the moment. It’s hard to find a starting job when you’ve never had a job because lots of companies like people that have experience.”

Because she knows her CMJTS work experience position at the food shelf is winding down, Alesha is job searching with vigor! She is moving forward with the skills and confidence, as well as good references!

Alesha - Pre-ETS

An opportunity for advancement ignited a fire in Amanda, who worked as a childcare teacher at Allstar Childcare Center in Milaca.

When the business owner was seeking a new director, Amanda was a natural fit. To be qualified by the state to hold a director position, Amanda needed to obtain college credits. Her best option was to enroll in the Child and Adult Care Education program at St. Cloud Technical & Community College. Amanda graduated in the spring of 2018 and has been training for the director position while going to school.

Allstar Childcare Center just opened in their new location, and Amanda is enjoying her new office!

Amanda Hoffman - Adult - Mille Lacs County

SVEA — For 21 years, students from the Youthbuild program have helped bring an old country school back to life.

Youthbuild, a program of Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services, helps introduce unemployed young people to a variety of careers in the building trades industry. The program is active at the Area Learning Center, a Willmar Public Schools alternative high school.

In addition to spending time at area businesses, the youth in the program do volunteer work.

A number of nonprofit organizations in the area have benefited from their work. They’ve done repair work and some light construction work for the organizations. Among their projects have been raised planting beds and activity tables.

At DEMO Inc., in the former Svea School, young people have helped

At DEMO Inc., in the former Svea School, young people have helped complete projects to preserve the 1907 building’s history and develop it into a place to teach and develop young artists.

DEMO stands for Developing, Exploring, Maintaining Originality through the Arts. It was founded by artists and recently retired art teachers Monica Villars and Pauline Donahue, both of Willmar.

Donahue and Villars have put countless hours of their own effort into rehabbing the building, which was in poor condition when they purchased it.

They have hired building trades professionals where needed to improve wiring, plumbing, electrical and other systems in the building.

And volunteers from Youthbuild and other organizations have helped get lots of work done. They have included students from the ALC service learning class and volunteers from a Svea church and group homes in Willmar.

“We’ve had so many years of the kids working; it’s made a huge difference,”

Villars said in May, as she pulled weeds alongside some Youthbuild students. Villars taught at the ALC for many years
Delina Woltjer, a youth employment specialist for Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services, said she works with the students three times a week. Near the end of the school year, she told them they could choose between visiting businesses or volunteering, they chose to do more volunteer work.

Woltjer pulled weeds that day with Villars and several students. One of them, Natalia Deleon, 17, a sophomore at the ALC, said she has enjoyed her Youthbuild experience. She liked learning about welding, she said, and she enjoys coming to DEMO.

At DEMO, Youthbuild has done a little of everything.

Over time the students have plotted and planted a garden. A small grove overgrown with weeds and brush is now a green lawn dotted with trees.

“So many hours went into clearing brush,”

Villars said.

Youthbuild students have helped refinish woodwork and paint walls inside the building. A group of students helped insulate and weatherproof the building’s rock basement and foundation. They’ve helped insulate the attic, too.

Outdoors, Youthbuild teens built a wooden platform for a picnic table nestled in a shady spot near the building. Villars said it kept the picnic table from sinking into the soft ground. In May, Kaystone Bautista, 16, a junior, used a power sander to smooth away the picnic table’s weathered surface so it could be refinished.

Some of the work is more physical, some with an artistic bent. Mona Sepulveda, a senior, recently painted the raised designs on an old door. Donahue provided the color scheme, and Sepulveda carried out her plan.

Over the years, young people who’ve volunteered at DEMO sometimes return to visit.

“I love to see kids in the arts,”

Donahue said.

“I’m proud of all the babies and the places they’ve gone.”

Donahue taught in BOLD schools. Story published in West Central Tribune, written By Linda Vanderwerf on Jun 8, 2018

Youthbuild - State funded Youthbuild

Samuel never pictured himself working in customer service at a busy, new-concept grocery store. In fact, he had a hard time picturing himself applying for any job at all until one day when his parents conspired to drop him off at the local WorkForce Center.

“They just dropped me off and left me there for like two hours. Finally, I got up the courage to go in and ask to talk to someone.”

Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services, Inc. (CMJTS) youth employment specialist, Ryan, was the first to meet with Samuel at the WorkForce Center. When the ReImagine Retail Customer Service class came up, Ryan encouraged him to attend and helped Samuel get enrolled. The small group class format helped Samuel, over the four-week course, work through his extreme shyness and gradually become comfortable interacting with the instructor and fellow students.

At an employer roundtable that was part of the class, Samuel met Mary Kruck, store director for the Isanti, Minnesota, Coborn’s Marketplace. She spoke about their new-concept store, which focuses on the customer experience. She also talked about their search for new employees open to learning new ways of doing things. Mary emphasized that everyone has different skills to offer and that Coborn’s has a place for people who are willing to work hard and capitalize on their abilities. Samuel thought,

“Maybe Coborn’s is a place that I’d like to work.”

After completing the class and passing the National Retail Federation Customer Service and Sales Certification exam, CMJTS staff set up an opportunity for Samuel to interview with Coborn’s for a paid work experience, a temporary worksite arrangement that teaches individuals work-readiness skills. Through this training, funded by the ReImagine Retail grant, Samuel spent three months in training at Coborn’s as a bagger. Samuel asked to learn more and was given the opportunity to learn how to cashier. At the end of his work experience, Samuel was surprised and happy to be offered a regular position as a cashier. Then, in August 2017, an opening in the modern kitchen area became available so Samuel applied for it.

“I really like staying busy. In the kitchen I can still enjoy interacting with the guests, but I always have extra tasks to do. It’s really fun when I get to try different things like creating the wood-fired pizzas and learning to cook a variety of things.”

Samuel shared that his homeschool background gave him great academic skills but did not force him to develop his social or technology skills. He stated that in some ways, not getting caught up in technology like other kids his age was helpful to stay focused on important things, but it also kept him unprepared for the interpersonal skills needed to be successful in a job.

When asked about some of the ways Samuel has worked through his challenges on the job, he stated,

“I just picture everyone as family. Even working with some of the more crabby customers is fun. It’s interesting to see what they are going to say on each trip to the store.”

When it comes to his dyslexia, he stated that he relies on his memory.

“I just used every free minute while cashiering to memorize the buttons, difficult words, anything I needed to know. Cucumber—that was really tough. I know it sounds crazy but that was a tough one for me. Honestly, if it wasn’t for this program, I don’t think they (Coborn’s) would have ever given me a chance at a job. My interview was bad. I couldn’t make eye contact—in fact, I looked all around the room instead of at the person interviewing me. It took me two hours to have enough courage to even go to the interview. I got to the store two hours before the interview time. I went in and wandered around to get familiar with the place. I couldn’t get up the courage to ask where to go for the interview, so I went back out to my car and I just sat there. I almost just left without doing it, but I knew I probably couldn’t get out of this one, so finally I just went in.”

What advice would Samuel give someone else?

“Just keep moving forward every day, even when you really don’t want to keep going.”

Samuel also commented about his experience in the ReImagine Retail Program.

“Patience—that was one of the best things about the people I’ve worked with in the program. They were so patient with me when I wasn’t in touch as often as I should have been. Sometimes I avoided their calls, but they just kept on trying and encouraging me.”

Samuel noted that having staff support, learning about Coborn’s during the class, meeting Mary, practicing customer service skills, and getting his certification were all important.

“It’s really great to be at a job where I work with good people. Really, everyone is so friendly and just nice.”

Mary, store director shared:

“Samuel is our diamond in the rough and we are happy to have him for as long as he is happy to have us!”

During Samuel’s training and employment at Coborn’s, his wage has increased from $9.50 an hour to nearly $12 an hour. Congratulations, Samuel!

Samuel - ReImagine Retail

Austin, father of three, suffered kidney failure in 2002, which completely changed his life. His first kidney transplant failed and he had a second in 2016. The birth of his third child motivated him to improve his education. While on dialysis, he earned his GED through Adult Basic Education (ABE). While at ABE, he learned about the CMJTS Pathways to Prosperity grant opportunity, which would allow him to learn welding at Anoka Technical College. While attending classes, he made many things out of various metals such as a lamp, saw horses, and various artistic pieces made from welding blueprints. He completed the program with a 3.4 GPA and is now considering starting his own business.

“I am grateful for the positive support, ease of navigation, and helpful financial assistance during my time at school. We need to do a better job of getting the word out (about these programs) and not have to ‘stumble’ upon services.”

Austin - CMJTS Pathways to Prosperity and Central MN East ABE Co-enrollment