Mother Teresa once suggested that “Great work is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.”  Clearly we must be a lantern for ourselves before we can do the noble and humbling work of illuminating the path for others.  Yet how often is the expression “I am burned out” heard on the winds within the workplace, particularly among those whose job it is to rekindle the flame of other people – be it in the classroom, the social services agency or the medical environment?  Contrary to popular opinion, the antidote to burnout is not always rest – perhaps it is the sacred fire of purpose and passion that can only be lit and rekindled from the hearth of one’s soul.

Drawn from her newest book, “A Pilgrim’s Plea: The Journey of Spirit in Life and Work”, (due for release in Spring, 2002) Denise Bissonnette offers yet another dynamic, inspiring and life altering workshop experience!  Designed to re-ignite the power, passion and purpose which originally drew people to the helping professions.

This one day-intensive seminar intertwines poetry, parables, and practical applications to put soul back into the everyday realities of life on the job.  With warmth, humility and humor, Denise delivers ideas and insights from the world’s great wisdom traditions in a way that is easy to understand, process and apply to the 21^st century workplace. It is said that the coal that has been an ember is easily kindled.  This workshop provides the gentle but deliberate breath that can set the fire within the hearts and spirits of the helping professional aglow.

Purposes and Benefits

This workshop will inspire and equip the helping professional to:   

Materials: 

Seminar fee includes the Rekindling the Flame Workbook consisting of practical exercises, activities, questions, quotes and excerpts from Denise’s book, “A Pilgrim’s Plea: The Journey of Spirit in Life and Work.“

Target Audience: 

All those who work within a helping profession  - including Health and Human Services, Social Services, Employment and Training, Education, Legal Services, Counseling and the Medical Professions.  

Here is a workshop that equips the employment professional to:

This inspiring program is a collection of motivational activities which serves to enliven the spirits of job seekers and instill a fresh vision of their opportunities in the work world. Through a series of unconventional assessments, this program helps individuals from all walks of life to uncover the wealth of their "hidden" skills, abilities and assets and then develop practical, corporate-minded proposals for their own job creation within local businesses.

These ideas have been shared with tens of thousands of job developers since the publishing of Denise's popular book, Beyond Traditional Job Development, in 1994. MWA is pleased to offer this special training package which couples the concept of the employment proposals with hands-on tools for teaching, developing, and presenting the proposal for job seekers. Going one-step further, Denise will introduce the concept of "activity –based placement" and how to get your job seekers job developing for one another!

This dynamic one-day workshop is relevant to the entire spectrum of work seekers, from those just entering the job market to those who bring a wealth of past work experience. The activities provided in this training package constitute an ideal 6-hour program.

For more information, contact Lynda Jean Groh, (800) 626-3939, ext. 114, ljgroh@earthlink.net

Since September 11^th we have been facing new challenges in the employment & training community.  We have also become rescue workers for job seekers. Many new people who have been laid-off are coming through our door looking to us for hope and new opportunities. 

It is very easy to get discouraged and pass on our feelings to these applicants. We have more people out of work, less job opportunities being posted and our caseloads have increased.  Even with these scenarios, there are more opportunities within our grasp than we could possibly take full advantage of.

Milt Wright & Associates, Inc. is now offering a series of half-day workshops to help One-Stop Centers develop new approaches for these hard times. Program staff will learn ways to develop new employment opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed, as well as gain techniques for developing effective business services to create solutions for the challenges of today.  The knowledge from each of these workshops is linked by the common need for Job Creation.  The following is a description of the four workshops that offer the survival tools for today’s changing economy.

1. Beyond Traditional Job Development
2. Creative Avenues for Job Creation
3. Developing Business Services
4. Down to Brass TASKS

SESSION ONE:
Beyond Traditional Job Development
Half-Day Workshop

Due to the downturn in hiring, employment & training organizations need to explore alternative ways of creating employment opportunities for program participants. This inspiring session will instill a fresh vision of opportunities in the work world. It offers a practical and proactive approach to job development; and challenges the employment professional to look beyond traditional methods for achieving placement results.

At the core of this workshop the employment proposal will be presented as a tool for placement professionals to increase placement opportunities. It is an avenue for all walks of life to uncover the wealth of their skills, abilities and assets and then develop practical proposals for their own job creation within local businesses. All participants who attend this training will receive a copy of Beyond Traditional Job Development: The Art of Creating Opportunity. This is an excellent book chockfull of new ideas. Delivered with numerous real-life examples, this workshop is as inspiring and mind-opening as it is relevant and timely to the needs of today’s employment professionals. 

The focus of this training session will be:

Ø      Rising to the challenge

Ø      Creating new work opportunities with employment proposals

Ø      Capitalizing on business and social trends

Ø      Improving quality service to applicants and employers

Ø      Learning creative ways to expand your employer base

SESSION TWO:
Creative Avenues for Job Creation 
Half-Day Workshop

Now that you have attended the first workshop, you are ready to create new avenues for job creation through learning the techniques for teaching your applicants to develop their own employment proposals.  This is a proactive “applicant’ based approach that focuses on what a person can do and what a person has to offer based on their unique talents, skills, and personal attributes that can result in profit for an employer as well as themselves.  This is your opportunity to take the next step to opening the door by carrying the knowledge we have to solve the needs of our local business.

This workshop focuses on the creative integration of people into our business community. 

Ø      Learn what we know the most about.

Ø      Learn who needs this information or skill.

Ø      Learn what inspires people to take action and responsibility for
their own lives.

Ø      Explore the avenues of non-traditional forms of job creation.

Ø      Learn the true meaning of profit.

Ø      Learn how the value and purpose of the employment proposal versus a resume.

Ø      Learn how to create job possibilities where there seem to be no jobs.  

All participants who attend this extremely unique and inspirational training will receive step-by-step instructions and tools on how to teach their participants to recognize their own potential from what they already know, to begin from right where they are and to determine their purpose by identifying what they have to offer. They will learn how to create jobs rather than just look for jobs.  It is an additional approach one can use to add to your repertoire of employment services in this time of economic downturn. Let’s make it an upturn!

SESSION THREE:
Developing Business Services
Half-Day Workshop

The purpose of this workshop is to learn new approaches for improving relationships with the business community. When an employer tells you they have no job openings…do you walk away or are you prepared to ask other questions to gain a new understanding of the crucial workforce issues they are facing? If you understand these needs, are you able to provide ideas on where they can find solutions?  Working with the business community to improve program performance will provide your agency with the necessary tools to:

·        Develop new and ongoing relationships with employers.

·        Increase placement opportunities.

·        Gain a better understanding of the businesses who are hiring   your applicants.

·        Enhance the opportunity for increased wages for employed     participants.

Participants who attend this training will learn:

Ø      Basic ingredients of a Business Service strategy.

Ø      Steps to implement an employer proposal to upgrade the skills of employed participants and other underemployed workers.

Ø      Ideas for Value-Added services and information that can be utilized to recruit and maintain your business customers.

Ø      The most frequently asked workforce issues of California businesses.

Ø      Accessing Internet resources to help solve business problems.

Ø      Strategies to increase placements and career advancement of program participants.

This is your opportunity to learn what is presently working with agencies that are providing Business Services. Learn from the success of others!

SESSION FOUR:
Getting Down to Brass TASKS:
Creating New Placement and Job Retention Opportunities
Half-Day Roundtable Workshop

This is a practical session for brainstorming solutions for creating new placement and job retention opportunities. This session is specifically designed to make what you have learned applicable to the needs of your applicants. It offers opportunities to address your specific questions and explore solutions.  It is an essential workshop for any person who is responsible for helping participants identify their skills, abilities, and talents; and assisting in the process of finding and keeping a job.

Getting down to brass TASKS is an extraordinary 3-hour roundtable workshop that offers attendees the opportunity to see more than one side of work potential.  Participants explore beyond what appears to be and learn to think out of the box to create a rewarding livelihood.

This is an excellent opportunity for a hands-on workshop to address your concerns: 

Ø     Strategize creative placement opportunities for your program participants. 

Ø     Problem solve participant issues in new ways. 

Ø     Develop vision and solutions to participant/employer problems  through creative imagination. 

Ø     Develop quality customer service. 

Ø      Apply creative job retention strategies.

Place yourself in the position to create, to achieve, and to succeed.  Collaborate with others to see new ways to help your participants, find and keep their right job.

For more information on the Four Half-Day Workshop Series, contact us by e-mail at ljgroh@earthlink.net

This dynamic presentation incorporates ideas and materials selected from the first 3 Courses of Cultivating True Livelihood. The training provides a unique and inspiring framework around the critical and often elusive issues of motivation and self-esteem as they relate to preparing people for employment. People leave this workshop with renewed respect for their participants, revitalized towards their own work, and equipped with practical tools for immediate implementation.

This workshop sheds light on the new realities facing students as they transition from school to work at the onset of the 21st century.  This presentation offers practical ideas and innovative strategies with which we can assist students to meet these realities with optimism, hope and fresh possibilities for the future.  Inspiring us all with the belief that one's livelihood can be better shaped by looking at our individual gifts than by trying to shape ourselves to the dictates of business, participants will receive samples of Denise's "alternative skill assessments" from her celebrated curriculum, "Cultivating True Livelihood."

Taking us one step further, she will also share the eight essential premises upon which she based her newest publication on job retention, "30 Ways to Shine as a New Employee."  Participants will have an opportunity to consider the 30 Skills in relation to their own livelihood as Denise leads us through the book during this day of personal development.

30 Ways to Shine As a New Employee will give you the tools to provide outstanding support and guidance to new employees to ease the transition into the workplace and enhance their ability to be productive and effective from the start! This innovative retention program will enable you to proactively anticipate problems before they arise and give you a systematic way to ensure the success of your clients.

30 Ways to Shine As a New Employee is a powerful program for case managers, job developers and employers. Employment Training Organizations using its excellent array of tools, can deliver outstanding pre and post-placement support to their clients. Employers, using its comprehensive approach, can heighten the productivity, success, and job satisfaction of new employees.