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January 1, 2012 - March 31, 2012Submitted by Jan PrichardPlumas BusinessandCareer Network270 County Hospital Road,Suite 107, Quincy, CA 95971(530) 283-1606www.aworkforce.org

The Business and Career Networkin Quincy, Plumas CountyHires a New Frontline ReceptionistGThe Alliance for WorkforceDevelopment, Inc. wouldlike to welcome FaithWhelan as the newFrontline Receptionist withour Business and CareerNetwork team in PlumasCounty.Faith lived in the Quincyarea as a child, havingmoved to Loyalton, SierraCounty in her late teens.She has recently relocatedto the area with her family.Faith has extensiveexperience working with the public, both as a paid professional and as a volunteer whogave her time to help the local community. She is also experienced in the realm ofwebsite design and online marketing. Faith enjoys helping people to learn and succeedin life. In her free time she can be found playing whichever sport her children have taken up, right alongsidethem! She also likes to cook and do arts and craftswith her family.Faith’s previous experiences in business and incommunity service make her an excellent addition toour frontline staff.We look forward to working with Faith as part of ourPlumas team.Business & Career Network atthe Courthouse Annex, Quincy

BUSINESS SUCCESS .DONNELL’SMUSICLAND AND MINIFLEX IN GREENVILLEFollowing the success of MusicLand, which opened in Greenville on December 1st 2011,local entrepreneur, Ken Donnell, is set to open up another music store in Chico. Former“On the Job Training” employee, Jim McBeen has alsobeen made a partner in the business in Greenville.Congratulations to Jim! Having two stores will providemore opportunity for these business partners to buy inlarger quantities thus offering a greater range of productsalong with competitive pricing.Ken has appreciated working with the staff at theBusiness and Career Network over the last 3 years. Hehas successfully mentored Summer Youth Programparticipants, one of whom is now an employee followingan internship with Miniflex, and he has trainedemployees through the National Emergency Grant’s “OnJim at work in MusicLandthe JobTraining”program. As an entrepreneur and businessowner he has also attended several of ourTechnical Assistance Workshops aimed atsupporting local businesses, having beenthrough the “Business Boot Camp in 2009!With this experience and knowledge hekindly took part in filming for the BusinessService promotional video. During hisKen during filming with the crew from “Half a Bubble Out”interview for this video Ken explained, “Iwouldn’t be where I am today with mybusiness if it weren’t for the help and supportof staff at the Business and Career Network.”We wish Ken continued success in hisendeavors to grow businesses, and providejobs and services, in our rural communityand beyond.Ken interviewing with Michael from “Half a Bubble Out”

Youth Work Experienceat Stone Leaf, QuincyGavin Peters came into the Businessand Career Network seeking help withplanning his future. Referred to AFWD’sYouth Program, he met eligibilityrequirements and was enrolled in theprogram. Gavin’s goals included notonly working, but having the ability toearn enough to live independently andgainabetterunderstandingofwork/careers that would be a good fit forhim.He participated in YouthWorkshops that helped him improve job search, interviewing, and customerservice skills. He completed activities tohelp him to understand a paycheck,employee benefits, maintaining a personalbudget and positive credit, banking, findinghousing, and finding/owning transportation.Shortly after enrolling in the youth programGavin enrolled in classes at Feather RiverCollege. Completing a work experience jobwas one of the program activities suggestedto help Gavin to meet his goals. He beganhis 16 weeks of employment at Stone LeafAt work in the storeProductions in February. Gavin is now a fulltime college student with a fantastic part- time job that he loves. We look forwardto following Gavin’s progress.Good Job Gavin!!

Assisting American ValleyAviation with a New HireKyle Dembosz is the newest employee at AmericanValley Aviation in Quincy. For the past four years,Kyle has worked in every department at the LesSchwab Horton Tire Center performing oil changes, brake repair, tire installation,rotation and alignment. He was also trained as a customer service and salesrepresentative. Every winter Kyle was laid off for the season and then brought back onas business picked up in the late spring or summer. The inconsistency of seasonalemployment made it difficult for Kyleto settle down in Quincy.After this season’s layoff, Kyle wasreferred by a friend to the Business &Career Network in Quincy.Heworked with one of the office’s CareerCenter Advisors, to talk about careeroptions that would fit his educationand skills. Having graduated from theUniversal Technical Institute in Sacramento Kyle wanted to expand on the skills he hadgained through his schooling and find a more secure position.American Valley Aviation, Inc. (AVA), a company based in Quincy, wished to hire anew Automotive Technician due to a new contract AVA has recently been awarded.They required someone with a level ofexperience, but more importantly with therequisite skills needed to work on diesel enginesand military vehicles.AVA’s HR Managerapproached AFWD to assist the business withtheir candidate search.With Kyle’s background and his education, heseemed like a very suitable referral for theposition. His resume was submitted to AVA andupon review he was invited to interview for theposition. As a result Kyle was recently hired by AVA. He is thrilled to have this newopportunity and is enjoying working in such a state-of-the-art shop. This new job willallow Kyle to have stable employment allowing him to remain in Plumas County, closerto his family and contributing to the community in which he grew up.

Job DeveloperCertificationProgramNoRTEC sponsored a Job DeveloperCertification Program in Redding,California from January 17th to 19th.This event was attended by staff from the One Stops in Plumas, Lassen, Butte,Siskiyou, Shasta, and Del Norte counties. This interactive event was offered by CareerTEAM, LLC and Mike Fazio led the training. The title of the training was, “Sales,Marketing and Presentation Skills Training for the Career Services Professional”. Itprovided tools and strategies for presenting an agency’s career services to clients,businesses and the community.Mike Fazio has been working for Career TEAM, LLC for manyyears and enjoys his job. He travels around the United Statesholding trainings for workforce professionals. 60 Minutesrecently featured Mike Fazio and this Certification Program ina show that looked at Solutions to the Unemployment Crisis.One of the most important aspects covered in the training washow to change the brand of a One Stop. There is a need toalter the perception that employers have about potentialemployees who may be unemployed as well giving jobMike Fazio, Vice President ofCareer TEAM Workforce Consultingseekers a more positive outlook and preparing them with therequisite skills needed to secure full-time employment. The program explained thatdeveloping a strong partnership between employers, non-profits, employees and thecommunity is the foundation for creating success. Communication and “selling”business services is the key to initiating and strengthening that link.The training not only introduced these strategies but also required attendees to putthese practices into place. Groups of three or four were given the task of creating apresentation to “sell” One Stop services to a business or to a job-seeker. After workingon the PowerPoint presentations each group presented their pitch to the class. Thissimple exercise not only got everyone thinking about the array of services that One Stopoffices provide, but perhaps more importantly, the presentations got participants to lookat how these services can be marketed to see a greater return in success andsatisfaction for the members of the communities we serve.

Business and Career NetworkAssists Plumas District HospitalDuring Training of a New EmployeeKristie Vineyard’s primary occupation has been in the medical industry working mainlyas a Medical Secretary/Receptionist and Guest Services representative. Her mostrecent position, at the time of enrollment with the Business and Career Network, was asa Medical Secretary in a rural community. With her current skills she had been unableto find self-sufficient employment and had beenunemployed for more than six months.Kristie needed to upgrade her skills to becomemore employable. She was very interested inlearning the skills needed to find employment inthe field of Medical Billing within thehospital/medical industry.Kristie had anopportunity to fill an open position as a PatientFinancial Services Representative by completingan On the JobTraining (OJT) Program with Plumas District Hospital inQuincy, California. Plumas District Hospital was a preapproved National Emergency Grant OJT healthcareworksite for the position of Patient Financial ServicesRepresentative. Based on her skill gap, a 22 week OJTwas deemed appropriate for the skill level necessary forthis position. Without the On the Job Training, Kristiewould not have been able to perform the employerspecific skills for this position. The OJT has enabledher to receive the training and skills required totransition into this new job. Kristie’s OJT endedsuccessfully on December 16th 2011 and, thanks to theNational Emergency Grant, she is currently employedfull-time at Plumas District Hospital where she hasbecome a valuable member of the hospital’s billingdepartment. Congratulations on your success Kristie.

2012 Labor LawUpdate WorkshopThe Plumas Business and Career Networkheld its 2012 Labor Law Update Workshopat The Plumas/Sierra County Fairgroundson January 19th. Twenty-eight peopleattended this informative workshop in TheMineral Building. AFWD’s ExecutiveDirector Traci Holt, PHR presented theworkshop.Ms.Holther HR expertise,k hM Hlt sharedh dhtiand knowledge of current labor laws, withlocal businesses to assist them with theirbusiness and HR needs. AFWD holds theannual Labor Law Update Workshop tokeep local businesses abreast of recentchanges that affect their company and theiremployees.Topics this year included: NLRB – Notification of Employee Rights Meal and Rest Break Update Pregnancy Disability Leave SB299 Notice of Pay Detail AB469 Independent Contractor SB459Some common questions asked included: What should be included on a timecard to show breaks were taken? What is the minimum rest period for an employee? How do we set up an alternate work week?Other items included: OSHA reporting Social Media White Paper Employee status versus independent contractorAlliance for Workforce Development, Inc. (AFWD) provides workforce development andhuman resource services throughout Plumas, Lassen, Modoc, Butte and SierraCounties. Through a team approach, and in collaboration with other organizations,AFWD is committed to meeting employers’ workforce preparation needs. For furtherinformation on AFWD’s business services please visit us at www.aworkforce.org“All was very informative and up to date. Thank you,” Sandy Thomas, Plumas County Auditor