45°
He had worked at a chemical company for 12 years, but he'd had enough.
“I didn’t see a future there. I couldn’t do it anymore,” Stritch said. “I don’t think it was mentally or physically helping me.”
A year later, he’s still looking for work. Though Stritch said he has a much clearer idea of what he would like to do, he needs a little help in attaining those goals.
Enter Platform to Employment (P2E), a free five-week program that aims at getting the long-term unemployed back to work and providing employers with a risk-free trial with skilled potential employees.
Created by The WorkPlace, the program kicked off a new cohort of 25 Fairfield County hopefuls Wednesday at the Burroughs Community Center in Bridgeport. Each participant has been out of work for at least six months and has exhausted unemployment benefits.
The daily five-week preparatory program addresses social, emotional and skill deficiencies that can come with long-term unemployment. Participants are then matched with open positions at companies on an eight-week trial basis.
Salaries are funded through Bridgeport-based The WorkPlace, which receives state funding, said Joseph Carbone, president and CEO.
The program’s success rate is notable: Last year, 85 percent of P2E participants found full-time work, compared with the estimated 20 percent of those who have exhausted unemployment benefits and found work on their own, Carbone said.
“I respect you because you got into this program,” state Rep. Mitch Bolinsky of Newtown (R-106) told the group Wednesday.
Bolinsky spoke of a time when he was unemployed and how he turned to community service as an outlet.
“Pick yourself up,” he said. “It’s time to reinvent.”
In its first five years, P2E has grown into a national initiative with programs in 12 states, Carbone said.
One of the keys is working with companies offering full-time work. The number of jobs in America can be deceptive, Carbone said. About 28 million Americans are working part time, but about seven million would prefer full-time work, Carbone said.
“Your success can have ramifications and ripples across this nation,” he said.
The WorkPlace serves Bridgeport, Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Monroe, New Canaan, Norwalk, Shelton, Stamford, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport and Wilton.
Visit The WorkPlace’s website to apply for the P2E program.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bridgeport and receive free news updates.
