LIHU‘E — During these difficult times, job seekers find themselves going for longer periods of time without employment or working low-paying jobs with no way to advance. A new Professional Readiness Employment Program (PREP) Academy aims to help job seekers,
LIHU‘E — During these difficult times, job seekers find themselves going for longer periods of time without employment or working low-paying jobs with no way to advance.
A new Professional Readiness Employment Program (PREP) Academy aims to help job seekers, particularly Native Hawaiians, with creative tools to improve their ability to find and keep good jobs.
“Everyone has the opportunity to go through this,” said Melinda Montgomery, chief operating officer of Love The Journey, which created PREP Academy. “It’s for anyone who wants help that is unemployed or unemployed or wants assistance.”
Love the Journey is a Hawai‘i-based nonprofit organization that provides personalized support for individuals in times of hardship and change. It is unique among job skills programs for its focus on breaking employment barriers, Montgomery said.
“It is for anyone who wants to improve their employment situation, whether they don’t have a job and want a job, or they have a job and want to move forward,” she said.
“We’re very big on education. If it means someone is going back to school, then we are savvy on getting people to work though barriers to trade school or Kaua‘i Community College,” she said.
Montgomery, who has a degree in human services and recently completed a degree in business management, said PREP Academy is an individualized five-day program. It begins with an intake assessment to determine education level, work experience, needs and goals.
Day two is a cognitive behavioral program called “Breaking and Eliminating Behaviors.” Day three is spent with a life skills coach and focuses on career paths, interviewing skills and preparing for the state’s job market. Day four is devoted to resume building help complete job applications.
Montgomery said day five is a “Makeover For Success” session, with wardrobe and other assistance. For those who can’t afford a new business wardrobe, donated clothing will be made available. The training concludes with a mock-interview recorded on video to critique with professionals. Following graduation, follow-up sessions with more individual counseling and networking opportunities are available after one, three and six months.
Some people are looking for immediate employment to pay their bills and will look for better employment later. Others are working and want to know how to advance where they are or to move on to something better, Montgomery said.
“Not everyone has the same situation,” she said. “We work where the person is at.”
PREP Academy is funded with a $47,429 grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
The program aims to step up support for those who have lost their jobs or are making less than a “livable wage,” Montgomery said, because other organizations have lost resources that address these issues in a time of great need.
PREP Academy will offer two programs a month for five participants at a time. A $50 donation is requested, but no one will be turned away, Montgomery said.
Classes run weeknights from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Lihu‘e Plantation Building at 2970 Kela St.
Love The Journey was founded in 1999 with programs designed to assist former prison inmates and reforming addicts. It provides cognitive, behavioral and decision-making skills workshops.
Love the Journey CEO Arvin Montgomery recently became a certified substance abuse counselor.
CFO Aurora Deverill is the program coordinator in charge of PREP Academy. For information, visit www.lovethejourney.org, contact Deverill at 651-7204, or email aurora@lovetheiourney.org.
• Tom LaVenture can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
