Building a new American work force: a report on welfare- to-work in Allen County

              MEET THREE MEMBERS OF THE NEW AMERICAN WORK FORCE.
LAURIE JOHNSON
When La urie Johnson
injured her back, her career as
a Certified Nursing Assistant
was over. More importantly,
the injury left her a single
parent with two children to
care for and no income.
Welfare became a necessity.
It wasn't long, though,
before Laurie was on her way
to a new career. Through
JobWorks, she was able to
acquire new computer skills,
learning Windows 95 and
Word Perfect. Once trained,
she took a job at Indiana Die
Molding doing data entry in
the accounts-receiva ble
department.
"Most people on welfare
want to work," says Laurie.
"They just need an
opportunity. "
In her two years at
Indiana Die Molding, Laurie
has seen her responsibilities
grow and feels she has a
foothold in a steady job. Soon
she'll start to work on an
accounting degree.
SHERRI MCPHERSON
When Sherri McPherson
came to Indiana Die Molding
a year ago to apply for a job,
she felt well-prepared. She
had been through the
JobWorks program where she
received instruction on how
to write a resume and handle
questions in a job interview.
"It gives you confidence,"
Sherri says of the program. "I
felt like I could make a good
impression. "
She made a good enough
impression to be hired and
began at 10M as a press
operator. After six months,
she received a very favorable
job review which earned her a
promotion to the Weigh Up
position on second shift. She
was also rewarded by
JobWorks with a $50 voucher
for clothing and a gift
certificate to an area
restaurant.
Sherri is as pleased with
10M as they are with her.
"They're grea t," she sa ys of
management. "If I need a
little time off, they"re very
flexible, very understanding."
For Sherri and 10M, welfare­to-
work works well.
JAMES KELLEY
"I walked four and a half
miles every day to get to
work," says James Kelley,
material handler at Indiana
Die Molding. That may
sound like a tall tale but in
James' case it 's a fact.
Several years ago, he
was una ble to find work
and, as a result, went on
food stamps. So determined
was James to stay off food
stamps that every day for
six months he made the trek
from Meijer's (where the
bus dropped him off) to
10M. Eventually he was
able to buy a car to drive
himself to work.
J ames entered the
JobWorks program where
he learned basic job-seeking
skills. He also received
services from the Women's
Bureau and the Food Stamp
Office. Those services
prepared him so he could
land the job at 10M.
For two years, J ames has
been a valued employee.
What's more, his hard work
and determination have
paid off with a promotion
to Material Handler.