Saying Yes for Success: Upper Shore American Job Center Partners Working Together for Rusty - Workforce Development and Adult Learning

MEET RUSTY…

Saying Yes for Success: Upper Shore American Job Center Partners Working Together for Rusty

Rusty didn’t like going to high school very much and in his junior year he dropped out. After working a dead end job for a few years, Rusty engaged with American Job Center Partners in the Upper Shore to transform his life. The Division of Rehabilitation Services, Adult Education, Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning, the Upper Shore Workforce Scholarship Office and Chesapeake College’s Perkins Career and Technology Education, and the Chesapeake College Foundation all had a role in the transformation.

Rusty’s first interaction with the American Job Center was his pursuit of and completion of his Maryland High School Diploma through the National External Diploma program. With his diploma in hand, the Division of Rehabilitation Services and the Upper Shore Workforce Scholarship Office worked with Chesapeake College’s Career and Technology Education staff to enroll Rusty in a welding program. The Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning worked with Rusty to help him get a job with a local company using his developing welding skills. The Chesapeake College Foundation supplied scholarship funding that was blended with Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funding so that Rusty could attend class at night while working during the day.

Rusty illustrates what happens every day in the American Job Centers-partners work together to find a way to say “yes” and “yes” leads to success.