VGCC and Oxford Housing Authority partner to give residents new work opportunities
Several Oxford residents recently celebrated their completion of a training course offered through a partnership between Vance-Granville Community College and the Oxford Housing Authority. Eleven adults completed the five-week “Employability, Motivation and Retention” program conducted by instructor Caroline Jones from VGCC’s Human Resources Development (HRD) department.
Since 2009, VGCC and the housing authority have collaborated on classes designed to help anyone in Oxford, and particularly OHA residents, to get back into the workforce. OHA executive director Xavier L. Wortham had noticed a great deal of interest in job training, which would be provided at the housing authority’s Employment and Education Training Center on Raleigh Street. This year, the program has been enhanced by an on-the-job training component in which participants attend classes two days each week and work for the housing authority on the other days, doing landscaping, repair work and other jobs. The combination of education and part-time employment prepares students to find and keep jobs in the future. The housing authority also has partnerships with local contractors to encourage them to hire participants. “Some residents don’t have a high school diploma, so this may be their first opportunity to get any sort of certificate of completion for any training program, and they also will get a letter of recommendation from us,” said Wortham. “The partnership with VGCC has been outstanding because it’s given many people employment opportunities that they otherwise would not have had.”
Like other HRD programs offered by VGCC, the classes are designed to help the unemployed and the underemployed with career planning and workplace readiness skills, including help with resumes and preparing for job interviews as well as guidance toward becoming better employees. HRD classes are free to qualified participants, including those who are unemployed. HRD coordinator Kyle Burwell pointed out that the Oxford location has been beneficial because some residents lack transportation to travel to VGCC campuses. On June 8, Burwell formally presented certificates to participants who completed the program in April. One, Devin Brown, said that he especially appreciated part of the course that discussed “setting short and medium-term goals and working toward my long-term goals.” His classmate, Earl Perry, added, “These are skills for life, not just for on the job.” Participant Tony Curtis enjoyed the computer skill training. All praised their instructor and Wortham for giving them such an opportunity. Jones is currently teaching another group of students at the OHA location. One current student, Maria Ingram, reported proudly that she had already accomplished a personal goal of finding a job since she started the class.
For more information on this and other HRD classes, contact Kyle Burwell at (252) 738-3276.
Above: Recent completers of the VGCC Human Resources Development course pose with their certificates in hand. From left, HRD coordinator Kyle Burwell, participants Devin T. Brown, Stanley R. Royster, Earl C. Perry, Lisa W. Martin, Tony E. Curtis, Eland S. Kinton, all of Oxford, and Oxford Housing Authority executive director Xavier Wortham, at the OHA Employment and Education Training Center. (VGCC photo)
