Young workers get a boost with federal program

About 300 local young people are happy to have jobs this summer through a federally-funded state-run program.

Summer interns employed through the stimulus program run by the Workforce Development Board of Western Missouri were excited for the opportunities the program provided. The board matched interested youths with employers in their fields of interest and areas of study to provide them with jobs, training and valuable experience for future employment.

Cathy McCannon trains the young people in the program for two days, before they begin their internships with area employers. Her training provides tips on how to use life experience to find a job.

McCannon trains 16- to 24 year-olds in the program who have varying degrees of past work experience. She offers advice on preparing resumes, interviewing for jobs and how to use everyday skills to further a career.

“It’s kind of like a one-room school house,” McCannon said. “I try to present material that is challenging enough for the older ones, who have job experience, but yet simplify it enough so people who haven’t had a job can grasp it.”

Warrensburg resident Raelinn White, 17, attended the orientation this week as she prepared for her internship with either Small Creation’s Daycare or Ridge Crest Nursing Center in Warrensburg. White said she is pursuing a career in early childhood care and development, and she was pleased with the opportunity to gain work experience in the field in an otherwise difficult job market.

“Before the program I called every nursing home and every daycare, because those are the two things I want to do in life,” White said. “The daycare wanted to hire me but I wasn’t 18, and the nursing home said the only obligation was I had to start CNA (certified nurse’s assistant) classes in August.”

Randy Templemire, 22, of Sedalia, was also finishing up his training before being placed in an internship with a local auto mechanic for the summer. He heard about the program while looking for work at the career center after being laid off from Gardner Denver earlier this year.

“Through this program, I am getting the opportunity to maybe do some auto body repair, which is one of my passions. I own a ’65 Mustang, and I enjoy working on cars,” Templemire said. “Without this program I don’t think I would have had the opportunity to go into this work field.”

Some students who have already started their summer internships through the program said they are learning much about their potential future career and feel lucky to find a job through the program.

Cierra Lawler, 20, of Sedalia, started working at the Sedalia Senior Center more than a week ago. She works there five days a week, where she does a little bit of everything, from office paperwork to helping prepare meals on wheels.

“I enjoy it here a lot,” Lawler said. “It’s been great ... I look forward to coming to work everyday.”

Lawler, who intends to study child psychology, said she was looking for a job everywhere before learning about the stimulus program. She said she felt lucky to be placed in a job that provides her with great experience for the future.

Dalton Stowe, 22, is a junior studying at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla. This summer, he is working in the fabrication shop in ProEnergy Services, where he helps out with everything from running bands to loading inventory.

“The exposure to many different things has been great,” Stowe said. “The main thing I learned is the leadership aspect.”

Stowe, who has been working at ProEnergy for more than a month already, said he has enjoyed the internship experience and hopes it might open a door for him to work with the company once he receives his degree.

Justin Menning, a third-year corporate accounting student at University of Central Missouri, received an internship in accounts payable at ProEnergy through the program. Menning was working at a local gym before scoring the internship in his field of study.

“It is pretty much a test run to see if accounting is what I want to do, and I’ve found out it is,” Menning said. “School teaches the foundations, but here you learn the systems of how everything really works. I got to take the knowledge I’ve learned at school and really use it.”

Menning believed the experience he gains this summer will help him focus more on school next year because he is convinced accounting is in his future, which is just what the program was intended to do.

The summer jobs program was designed to place people into growing fields and jobs of the future. McCannon said an important part of the program is to provide experience that will help the young people find careers years down the line.

“The whole idea of the stimulus is to prepare for the future, but many of the jobs that we’re doing today probably won’t be around 20 years from now,” McCannon said.

Templemire is also hopeful that the experience he gets through the summer jobs program will help him find a job years in the future for which he has a passion.

“It’s kind of a chance to get away from the factory work, which there is not really a big opportunity for right now anyway,” Templemire said.