RVR is experienced in the Skills Academy concept, having first developed and operated the Basic Skills Academy serving Welfare-to-Work participants. The concept has been expanded to other counties and programs, including dislocated workers and youth.

A significant and ongoing component of the Academy is the involvement of community mentors, including Jodie and Ed, shown here at mentor training conducted by RVR.

The Basic Skills Academy is a collaborative community effort that works in two distinct, yet often intermingling, "streams":

• A classroom component in which job skills are learned and practiced, resulting in placement in employment. A number of the training workshops included in the Academy curriculum are conducted by local business leaders who serve as volunteer instructors.
  
  
• A strong community mentoring program to ensure job retention after placement. Depending upon the needs of the individual participant, one, two or even three trained mentors per participant provide ongoing encouragement, interest, and support. This mentoring experience begins when Academy classroom training starts and continues after employment as long as necessary to ensure a smooth transition into the world of work and to maximize the opportunity for job retention.

The encouragement and support of these mentors have made the difference in success of the participants (of all ages) in the Academy program. Another result: not only have individual connections been made, but the participants have "bonded" with the very communities in which they live! Mentors have included educators, bankers, business owners, the Workforce Board chairperson, hospital executives, and even a mayor and a police chief.

RVR is experienced in coordinating the mentoring program and training the mentors themselves. Our staff has been in demand to provide this training at local, state, and regional levels, including the Department of Labor Region V Youth Conference in Chicago; the Building Better Opportunities for Ohio’s Youth conference in Columbus, OH; the Wood County Educational Services Center in Bowling Green, OH (operators of WIA youth services); the Fayette County Skills Express Academy in Connersville, IN; and state-wide training sponsored by Workforce Connections of Madison, WI.

If you are interested in contacting RVR to provide mentor program development or mentor training, contact Margo Olsen, margo@rivervalleyresources.com.