DuPage Pads Employment Program
DuPagePads Employment Program experienced great success last fiscal year. Among the 171 individuals seeking employment assistance from DuPagePads, 139 (81%) secured jobs.
Click here to see Yolanda’s story and hear how DuPagePads Employment Program helped her.
DuPagePads onsite Employment Program provides a variety of services to help individuals gain meaningful employment. With the help of employment specialists, individuals complete an initial assessment where information about job skills, interests and employment history are obtained to ensure the best match possible with employers in the community.
Located at 705 West Liberty, Wheaton, IL, our Employment and Education Center is available to the whole community. Educational opportunities help individuals expand their skill base to obtain employment.
Our Employment Program focuses on four categories of assistance:
- Education
- Career Development
- Employment Matching
- Financial Literacy
Education
DuPagePads has a partnership with the College of DuPage to offer an online GED program. Literacy DuPage, another service partner, provides onsite one-on-one tutoring. Our Employment and Education Center maintains a computer lab for job searching and correspondence. A computer literacy program is available and conducted by a retired University of Illinois Computer Science professor.
Career Development
DuPagePads Employment Program offers workshops for our program participants that focus on workforce skills and ways to improve professionally. Employment specialists also meet individually with program participants and cover crucial skills including resume writing, job-searching techniques, interviewing skills and job interests.
Employment Matching
DuPagePads partners with a wide variety of employers to match individuals’ skills and interests with living-wage jobs in our community.
Financial Literacy
DuPagePads offers classes on improving one’s credit. Partnerships with banks and budgeting classes are also available to interested individuals.
James Story – An Employment Program Participant
“When the economy crashed, I was working in manufacturing as a Production Manager. The orders stopped coming in. I was laid off and had no way to pay rent.
Thankfully DuPagePads was there to help offer overnight housing and nourishing meals. During the day at DuPagePads’ Employment and Education Center, I attended worskshops on resume writing and was provided a number of resources. Computers were available for a job search.
The Employment Coordinator helped me update my resume, coached me for an interview and even drove me because I didn’t have transportation to get there. I got the job! DuPagePads has been a real blessing for me.
I’m really grateful for being employed. I’ve now been working for 14 months, back in manufacturing. My job gives me a sense of accomplishment. With the absence of family, the company employees satisfy my need for family.
I still visit DuPagePads and give rides to the people whenever I can. Now I can give back and help others.”