Vocational rehabilitation and supportive housing participants attend mock interview and job readiness workshop sponsored by The Regional Internship Center and DHS to gain experience.
The Regional Internship Center (RIC) and the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) partnered to offer mock interviewing and a job readiness workshop to supportive housing residents.
Sara Dix addresses Supportive Housing Residents participating in a mock interview with RIC and DHS
The residents come from various backgrounds and skill sets. For some the mock interview will help them take a step toward obtaining a second chance at securing a meaningful career; for others, after time away from consistent employment, the opportunity to enter into the workforce anew.
A workshop was also given to provide participants with guidance to answer difficult interviewing questions such as gaps in employment and criminal records.
Many of the participants, with their own tenacity and the help of DHS programs, have overcome barriers such as job loss, domestic violence and health concerns and are ready to enter the workforce and/or establish careers to support themselves in moving on from transitional housing programs into independent living.
There are currently more than 800 men and women living in supportive housing programs in Allegheny County
Supportive Housing Residents learn to use the RIC website to search for internships
The mock interview and job readiness workshop was conducted in preparation for an internship fair that will occur in late April between the participants and regional employers seeking to expand their talent pipeline.
The Regional Internship Center helps individuals that are seeking experiential training in the form of internships.
Often, when employers host interns, it is with the intention of creating a pipeline of talent from which to hire. For the supportive housing residents, internships are a perfect chance to begin to obtain experience, build a resume, learn new skills or refresh skills and expand networks. The time spent at an internship provides interns with more tools with which they cant move onto a more challenging internship to gain even further experience, and, in the best case, transition into full time employment.
A Supportive Housing resident speaks with an employer
Southwestern PA has many small-to-medium sized companies looking for qualified and well-trained employees to fill positions in our growing job clusters such as information technology and communications, life science and advanced manufacturing. The RIC sees internships as a viable step toward obtaining these careers. The RIC provides services to employers within all industries and sectors to help them create and maintain well-run internship programs, and acts as a hub for employers and internship seekers to find one another.
