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| Contributed photo by Pamela Buck Loring Job Corps Culinary Arts students, from left, Corey Jackson of Hempstead, NY, Courtney Purefoy of Bridgeport, CT, and Jack Johnson of Skowhegan, ME, serve food they and their fellow students prepared for the center’s Community Relations Council meeting & luncheon on Sept. 27. |
By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — Many representatives from local businesses and associations were present at the Loring Job Corps Community Relations Council meeting and luncheon held on Sept. 27. Members of the Job Corps Honor Guard posted colors to begin the meeting, and Pamela Buck, business community liaison, welcomed all guests.
Center Director Kristie Moir provided a report on recent progress at the center, explaining that it has been a hectic time as several inspections were conducted all at once. The Department of Labor’s annual review and OSHA inspection took place in the same week. PB Dewberry, an independent engineering company based out of Virginia, also completed their annual inspection in which they walk every inch of the center to inspect each nook and cranny and piece of equipment and offer troubleshooting advice.
Moir was pleased to be able to report that the Department of Labor was extremely impressed with the progress that had been made at the center since their last visit in 2009. They commented on how great the students were and gave a very positive review. The OSHA inspection also went well, according to Moir. A perfect score given during the inspection is nine, which the center has repeatedly achieved in the past. This year’s inspector advised he has never given out a score of nine before and he did find one small problem with an old compressor. The site, however, intends to refute that finding in hopes of upholding their perfect nine score.
Moir continued that PB Dewberry also provided a good report for the site, pointing out that there are six maintenance employees that service the entire grounds with 500 students in and out each year. Loring was ranked in the top 10 for preventative maintenance, energy conservation and general maintenance, which, Moir felt, was quite impressive for a team of six that work very diligently.
Moir then outlined student highlights, commenting on the recent Commencement Day, which is a graduation ceremony conducted at all Job Corps centers on the same day. She advised that Loring had just held a graduation in the spring, so of the 110 students that qualified for graduation, between 20 to 30 were actually on hand as the others were already home or employed.
Moir also reported that Loring had moved up 20 spots from last year in ranking and were hoping to make another gain in performance. She advised that performance rates had changed this year with increased rates for GED and high school diplomas, containment, literacy and innumeracy as well. Moir explained the bar has been upped, so the center needs to continue to step up their performance.
Five students received their CDL Class A driver’s license last week, Moir reported, and of the second CDL class, all 12 passed their permits. They have a 100 percent pass rate for the last two months. Moir continued to report on placement data from July 1 through June 20. Two students have gone into the military, there have been over 50 college placements with some going into advanced training for nursing or auto, and of 15 students who applied to go into AmeriCorps in October, six are actually going.
Moir then shared the story of the opportunity the Honor Guard had to present colors at a NASCAR race in Loudon, NH, the weekend of Sept. 22. The group traveled with Master Sgt. Roger Felix to New Hampshire, presented colors at the race, then stopped at the Penobscot Job Corps for some rest and proceeded back to Loring. Moir stated she is very proud of the group for this accomplishment.
After Moir completed her report, Patty Perry, manager of the Presque Isle Career Center, gave a presentation on the current job market and employment statistics in Aroostook County. She provided handouts showing positions with high wage demand and a list of those positions in which Job Corps provides training. She also passed out a sheet showing the wage paid for these positions in Maine as compared to other states. Perry spoke of the importance of “soft skills” in conjunction with technical skills when applying for a job and praised the Job Corps for providing training in these soft skills. Perry painted a fairly bleak picture of the Aroostook job force, citing a decline in population and job availability. She advised they do have positions in the job bank at the Career Center, but have very few qualified candidates to send on interviews for these positions. She encouraged all those in attendance to utilize the job bank when looking for employees or employment.
Perry was followed by Bill Flagg of Cary Medical Center, who praised the Job Corps students for all the hard work they put into volunteering for the hospital’s Ride Aroostook event earlier in the year. He stated the students brought a really unique culture to the event and noted that a lot of the riders commented on how entertaining they were with their costumes and antics. Flagg said the event would not have been possible without the Job Corps students and offered his praise to them for never letting the hospital down when their services were called upon.
Julie Blackstone, who previously worked in the Job Corps health-care program but now works in administration as the purchasing manager, then spoke about the success of blood drives the students have participated in. She advised that over 10 years, the students alone have donated over 3,000 pints of blood and called it a phenomenal accomplishment.
Blackstone’s speech was followed by Admissions Counselor Tammy Foster, who spoke about recruitment. She advised that LJC officials are currently focusing on recruiting females between the ages of 16 to 24, attempting to get them interested in more male-driven programs such as truck driving or carpentry. Blackstone stressed the importance of keeping the younger generation in the County and advised she will be ramping up her recruitment efforts.
Kristie Moir then spoke again, sharing that 10 students received their OSHA certificates by completing a 10-hour training course regarding health hazards in the workplace. Moir thanked the Career Center for their participation in that.
Buck concluded the meeting by highlighting the many community service projects the Job Corps students had been involved in recently and praised all those involved for the continued improved success of the center.
