Auberle to Receive Statewide Recognition
McKeesport, PA (PRWEB) November 04, 2015 -- On Thursday, November 5 Auberle‘s Employment Institute will be named Community Based Program of the Year by Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judge’s Commission. John Lydon, Auberle Chief Executive Officer, will attend the ceremony to accept the award. This distinction recognizes the life changing outcomes that Auberle’s workforce development programming is able to accomplish with juvenile court involved youth. While the program serves any youth ages 16-24, the Community Based Program of the Year award recognizes Auberle’s ability to help youth with significant barriers to educational attainment and successful employment.
Auberle’s Employment Institute offers seven nationally or industry-recognized certification programs. The most recent additions are the IT Help Desk, Customer Service and Childcare certifications. Auberle also employs 30 youth per year for paid internships to help them gain the work experience they need to secure and retain community jobs. Rodney Prystash, Director of the Employment Institute reflects on the accomplishments of the Employment Institute, “We’ve grown from a program that served 35 youth per year to one that served 250 last year alone. Youth receive help through life skills training, vocational training, soft skills, paid internships, apprenticeship programs, free driver’s training and more. We decided that we would build a program that produced workforce outcomes that would change lives.”
The program now receives referrals from 46 outside agencies, making it the go-to workforce development program in the region. Youth earn, on average, $10.20 per hour and can participate in paid apprenticeship programs and earn the region’s only digital work ethic badge. The use of digital badges is a way for youth to electronically store their workforce accomplishments and communicate them with potential employers. Once earned, the digital badges can be placed on social media sites such as LinkedIn and applied to online job applications. Innovative approaches like these have contributed to the program’s success and this statewide recognition.
The award ceremony is part of the 2015 James E. Anderson Pennsylvania Conference on Juvenile Justice taking place Wednesday, November 4 through Friday, November 6 at the Harrisburg Hilton and Towers. The award ceremony will be held on Thursday. John Lydon, Auberle CEO, says of the award, “Auberle is deeply honored by this statewide recognition. We have worked with many partners to build the success of the Employment Institute including the businesses that create the opportunities and the jobs; Russ Carlino and Allegheny County Juvenile Probation who have walked with us since the beginning; the funders and donors who make this happen; the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board with their research, leadership and funding; and the 46 other agencies who entrust to us this very important work for their clients. It is a great feeling of satisfaction for all of us to see the lives of young people dramatically changed as they overcome hurdles in their lives, learn new skills and work ethic to gain a good paying career job with a national certification. They leave with such great hope for their future.”
Lauren Brown, Interim Director of Development, Auberle, http://www.auberle.org, +1 (412) 328-3739, [email protected]
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