11 Jun Employer Learning Series schools business execs
Nearly 200 representatives from 86 local employers attended Charlotte Works’ first-ever Employer Learning Series (ELS), 11 human resource workshops held in April and May.
Presented in partnership with Central Piedmont Community College, North Carolina State University—IES, The Employers Association and UNC Charlotte, the ELS was geared to meet the educational needs of business owners, human resources professionals, office managers, supervisors, engineers, manufacturing managers and production and support staff.
Topics ranged from “lean” principles to ethics to healthcare reform.
Craig Cole, vice president of employer engagement, notes that the ELS was designed not only to offer high-quality educational opportunities to employers, but also to introduce Charlotte Works to new companies and expand outreach and services to them.
“The ELS gave us an opportunity to showcase Charlotte Works to a new group of employers. We’ve now developed relationships with these businesses from a workforce intelligence perspective,” says Cole. “The ELS dovetails with our demand-driven philosophy to connect with employers so they realize we have access to talent at every level to meet their needs.”
He says that many participating companies have since posted jobs on Charlotte Works’ website and inquired about On-The-Job Training (OJT) grants.
In fact, learning about OJT grants is the most valuable take-away from the ELS for Gloria Lewis, president of Lewis & Associates, a four-year-old legal and administrative staffing agency. “I didn’t know that program existed, and that’s very useful for me,” she says.
She attended six ELS sessions. Her favorite workshop was “Ethics for HR,” which Lewis says “provided a lot of useful, relevant information that companies should be implementing into their everyday policies.”
Cole hopes to offer an ELS encore, based on topics suggested by those who attended the recent workshops. “We want to make sure we’re relevant” to employers, he says.
ELS Fast Facts:
- Two individuals attended six of 11 workshops.
- Two companies were represented at 10 workshops.
- Forty percent of companies had between one and 50 employees; 31 percent had more than 250 employees.
- The top three industries represented were medical/mental health/healthcare, manufacturing and nonprofit.