WIOA is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy. The Workforce Connection Youth Office in Otero County helps facilitate this important program for teen and youth participants, building the future workforce of our region.
Alamogordo, NM – Emerging Technology Ventures (ETV) Inc. is pleased to announce that their first WIOA participant has graduated Alamogordo High School and has secured full time employment with the organization. The WIOA Youth Program is a program for in school youth ages 16-21 and out of school youth ages 16-24. This program encourages participants to gain knowledge and skills to further explore what career they want to have in the future. Some of the program elements include work experiences where the program pays the participant while they are working for an employer and training to do something that interests them; this is to ensure that the participant is going into a field that he/she would like to pursue a career in. Other elements include job readiness skills such as mock interviews, resume building, how to dress appropriately for jobs, etc. This program also teaches participants how to manage their time and money; these are skills that are necessary to have, especially when entering into a work experience.
“Jordan Gonzalez came into the WIOA Youth Program towards the end of 2015 and has made tremendous progress. He was an in school youth when he started the program and on May 26th, 2017 he graduated from High School. While in school, Jordan managed to fulfill a work experience with Emerging Technology Ventures and has loved every minute of it. This program has helped him grow in a sense that he is no longer shy and has been able to gain extensive training in this field. He has become very responsible and has learned to prioritize very well. He has plans to go to college and continue in the engineering/technology field while focusing on program software. It has been a pleasure working with Jordan and witnessing how much our program has helped him get out of his comfort zone. We are proud of his accomplishments and know he has a bright future ahead of him. Our program has had many successful stories over the years and Jordan Gonzalez is a great example of how beneficial the program can be.” Victoria Gandarilla, WIOA Youth Career Development Specialist stated of the experience working with ETV.
Jordan Gonzalez, recent Alamogordo High School graduate and WIOA Program participant, stated “When I first started here at ETV, I had the chance to work with multiple interns as a team on a collaborative project. I worked with one of the interns on doing coding and design for some software that would count objects. Working together, it really made me appreciate what software does and what it takes to create it. After the project, I continued to work with the software engineers at ETV, and got to really enjoy being in that environment. Having the chance to be part of the discussions with different projects really stuck with me and peaked my interest even more.” Jordan joined ETV last January and immediately became interested in what ETV was doing in robotics and autonomous systems and the work they were collaborating on with other AUSC participant organizations. He worked closely with the software and hardware engineers at the organization to learn more about the current projects and to help with initial planning and design concepts on future projects. Over the past year and a half of working with ETV and being housed in the Software Department, Jordan has taken a keen interest in software engineering and plans to pursue studies in Computer Science at New Mexico State University Alamogordo in the Fall. Workforce Development is a critical aspect that AUSC has recognized as a hurdle for small businesses across the region of Southeastern New Mexico. The addition of more STEM focused students moving on to higher education is always a welcome addition.
“It has been an absolute delight for us to work with the WIOA program over the past year and we couldn’t be prouder of our newest employee. Jordan began a placement internship with ETV in
January of 2016, and has grown to be a valuable part of the ETV family of employees over his time with us. Being able to participate in programs like the WIOA and spurring the STEM interest of the youth in Alamogordo has always been one of our biggest priorities as we continue to develop the workforce and entrepreneurship for the AUSC. We have always wanted to show the youth in the region that there are opportunities out there in fields they may have never considered, and our first success story of working with the program proves that fact. Seeing the program in action and watching Jordan mature into a budding software engineer has made our participation well worth the effort. We greatly look forward to continuing our work with the WIOA and providing more opportunities for students like him in the future.” Deborah Hudson, President Emerging Technology Ventures Inc.
About Autonomous and Unmanned Systems Cluster:
The AUSC is a U.S. Small Business Administration supported Regional Innovation Cluster focused on the start-up and growth of small businesses developing autonomous and unmanned system technologies in southeastern New Mexico. Currently in its third year of operation, the AUSC provides capacity building and workforce development for a host of small business participants and partnership opportunities for larger organizations.
Article courtesy of the Autonomous and Unmanned Systems Cluster (AUSC). Click here for original release.