HIRE’s Partner Agencies
Latinos under the age of 30 are one of the fastest-growing segments of the Dane County population, within the next decades. Unfortunately, young Latinos face countless barriers to achieve academic and career success and the dropout rate is alarmingly high. According to a National Council of La Raza report, 28% of Latino students ages 16-24 permanently drop out of public high school, more than 34% are unemployed, and by 2018, only 28% of jobs will be available to people with just a high school diploma”.
In partnership with Madison College, the CAMINOS Program will support 45 participants (three cohorts of 15 students) through a certified nursing assistant curriculum, while gaining the soft skills that will prepare them overall for employment in the emerging health care sector.
Contact
Karen Menendez Coller ♦ (608) 255-3018 ♦ karen@micentro.org
Location
810 W. Badger Road ♦ Madison, WI 53713 ♦ (608) 255-3018
Social Media
  
_________________________________________________________
The Latino Academy of Workforce Development (LAWD), a program of Vera Court, is a bilingual adult education and employment program, with the primary goal of creating a safe, culturally competent space that empowers Latino adults to succeed and integrate into the economic and educational systems of Dane County. LAWD’s programming addresses the following needs: low high school graduation rates for Latino students in Dane County; high under and unemployment among Latino adults, and a lack of Spanish language, culturally competent programming. LAWD’s unique ‘education through community’ approach works closely with students, responds to educational needs quickly, and creates pathways to improved education and employment for the Latino community. This approach has demonstrated tremendous impact within the program’s first four years, growing from a small offering of language and job skills classes initially, to a community of over one over 500 learners participating in GED/pre-GED, ESL, and computer classes, job skills training, and employment services.
Contact
Location
1917 Lake Point Drive ♦ Madison, WI 53713 ♦ (608) 310-4573
_________________________________________________________
Literacy Network teaches reading, writing, communication, and computer skills to Dane County adults so they can achieve financial security, well-being, and deeper engagement with their families and the community.
We offer classes and tutoring programs in more than 25 locations throughout Dane County, with the support of more than 500 volunteer tutors each year. Our strong partnerships with businesses, libraries, clinics, schools, and social service agencies build essential community connections for our program participants.
Each participant develops goals in academic/career advising sessions with support from Literacy Network staff. Well-trained staff, interns, and volunteers provide quality, student-centered instruction in the following programs:
- English language classes and tutoring
- GED tutoring
- Basic literacy tutoring
- Citizenship interview preparation
Contact
Location
701 Dane Street ♦ Madison, WI 53715 ♦ (608) 244-3911
Social Media
_________________________________________________________
Just Bakery is a 16 week commercial baking vocational training program. The program offers Life Skills education, ServSafe Certification preparation, baking math, food science, customer service and teaches commercial baking skills in a commercial grade kitchen with students actually making a line of bakery products for sale in the community, employment placement assistance, and job coaching/mentoring are also provided. The program works with individuals who have an interest in baking or culinary arts as a career pathway and who experience significant barriers to employment: formerly incarcerated, homeless, lack of education, lack of work history or skills. Not all vocational or career training programs will accept individuals who are homeless which makes our model somewhat unique.
The overarching goals of Just Bakery are: program participants obtain and retain permanent employment at a wage higher than minimum wage, and formerly incarcerated participants do not return to prison. Program graduates can earn class credit from Madison College.
Contact
Linda Ketchum ♦ (608) 256-0906 ♦ linda@emum.org
Location
2300 South Park Street ♦ Suite 2022 ♦ Madison, WI 53713 ♦ (608) 256-0906
Social Media
_________________________________________________________
The award-winning UW-Madison Odyssey Project takes a whole family approach to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through access to education, giving adult and youth learners a voice, and increasing confidence through reading, writing, and speaking.
Now in its seventeenth year, this inspirational project has empowered more than 450 low-income adults to find their voices and get a jump start at earning college degrees they never thought possible. Some graduates of the program have journeyed from homelessness to UW-Madison degrees, or from incarceration to meaningful work in the community.
Odyssey offers a six-credit English literature course where UW-Madison faculty members introduce adults to great works of literature, philosophy, history, and art and help them improve skills in writing and critical thinking. In class, students read, write about, and engage in lively discussions of Emily Dickinson, Martin Luther King, Walt Whitman, Shakespeare, Lorraine Hansberry and more.
- 75% of students have continued their education after Odyssey
- 24% have earned a degree or professional/technical certificate
- 100% indicate that Odyssey helped to improve their writing ability
Location: Office: 21 N Park St. 7th floor, Madison, WI 53715 ♦ Classroom: 2312 S Park St., Madison, WI 53713
_________________________________________________________
The Urban League’s ADVANCE Employment Services provides an array of workforce solutions for job seekers and businesses. Our Job Seeker Services provide the tools for success in today’s job market including individualized employment planning & career advising; connections and referrals to employers; nationally certified work readiness training; industry recognized training in health care administration, customer service & sales, information technology, food service and construction trades; individualized and group job search and job placement assistance; and job retention and advancement coaching. Our Business Services include referrals of pre-screened candidates; customized training aligned to industry and business needs; hiring events; and region-wide workforce diversity & inclusion initiatives.
Contact
Edward Lee ♦ (608) 729-1211 ♦ elee@ulgm.org
Location
2222 South Park Street #200 ♦ Madison, WI 53713 ♦ (608) 729-1200
Social Media
_________________________________________________________
YWCA Madison offers three employment training programs to assist unemployed and underemployed community members in reaching family-sustaining wage careers:
-
YWeb Career Academy prepares people for web and app development jobs in the tech industry.
Each training program includes job readiness, academic preparation, classroom learning and hands-on training with industry partners.
Contact
Location
3101 Latham Drive ♦ Madison, WI 53713 ♦ (608) 257-1436
Social Media
   
_________________________________________________________
|
