03.23.21
Workforce development initiative formally recognized by state Department of Labor
Chris Darby, Wane.com
View the on-air interview here.
Excerpt
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – A local non-for-profit organization has been recognized by the Indiana Department of Labor for its workforce development initiative. Joshua Works has been certified as a State Earn and Learn program.
“We’d like to touch anywhere from 75 to 100 people a year,” Joshua Hand founder Cedric Walker told WANE 15. “And that may even be stretching it, because it takes time to help a person to get through the challenges and struggles that they have to rediscover or even discover the dignity of labor and to understand how wonderful it is to be able to bring your head, your heart and your hands together to do something creative and significant and be a contribution to your community.”
Joshua Works, was founded as a division of Joshua’s Hand. Joshua’s Hand was designed to revitalize the city’s southeast side through workforce development and affordable housing. The now certified program offers pre-apprenticeship training in the construction trades and industry.
“We see ourselves as a human resourcing kind of center where we’re helping people to become their best person and then to provide their gifts and talents as a gift to industry,” Walker said.
