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Omaha Jobs Program Attracting the National Limelight
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions — a $50 million, five-year partnership of foundations — is expanding effective workforce initiatives throughout the United States, boosting programs that place Americans in career-oriented jobs. Ford joined the partnership in 2007 as part of its ongoing commitment to help low-income people build assets and gain access to economic opportunities. The story below reports on the impact of an Omaha-based jobs program that is supported by the fund.
Published by Omaha World-Herald: July 10, 2009
By Steve Jordon
An Omaha effort to break people out of poverty is attracting national attention because the city's business community is leading the charge.
Nonprofit or government agencies typically run such jobs programs, which might get only grudging support from private industry because of the costs and uncertainties involved. Sometimes clients complete training only to discover jobs are lacking.
Not so in Omaha, where the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce is leading the effort to introduce chronically unemployed or under-employed people into careers that can support families.
"This was very exciting to us, to see that the business community is interested in tackling the issues as a sort of economic competitiveness problem," said Geri Scott, program director for the Boston-based nonprofit Jobs for the Future.
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