CareerSource Brevard and its Community Partners Invited to Present at the White House.

BREVARD COUNTY, FL— CareerSource Brevard (CSB), the area authority on workforce development, along with a team of local partners, were invited by the Department of Labor (DOL) to present their solution to the Customer Centered Design (CCD) Challenge, to White House and DOL Staff, Monday, September 19, 2016. The presentation and learning exchange took place at the White House and DOL offices in Washington, D.C.  The Brevard County team was one of 15 teams invited to present out of 100 that participated across the United States. The team included Corporal Sherri Somers and Louann Creasy, Brevard County Sheriff’s Office; Denise Hall, Florida Department of Corrections; Marea Staples, Brevard County;  Pastor Jarvis Wash of the REAL Church-  My Community Cares; Marci Murphy, Jessica Mitchell and Al Yorston, CareerSource Brevard.

The CCD Challenge included a seven-week intensive participatory training that taught methods to design workforce services by looking at what a customer needs. This technique, known as Customer Centered Design, is used largely in the private sector.  Applied to the workforce system, this approach encourages partnering with community organizations and local businesses to create innovative ways to better engage customers and help drive customer-centered thinking across the workforce system.

“This project presented an opportunity for CareerSource Brevard to collaborate with local partners and focus on opportunities to develop a more innovative, responsive, and integrated service delivery system for our customers,” said Marci Murphy, President of CareerSource Brevard.”

Presentation attendees included Portia Wu, Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration at Department of Labor and several other high ranking staff who asked questions and brainstormed ways to bring Customer Centered Design to other Workforce Agencies around the country.

Several topics were available for teams to choose from, including: ways to better serve youth and persons with disabilities and how to achieve stable employment for individuals with criminal backgrounds. Together with  its partners, CSB focused on designing better ways to serve individuals with criminal backgrounds searching for employment. The team’s work focused on building a database of employers who are interested in hiring individuals with criminal backgrounds while building a talent pipeline to serve these employers. Additionally the team educated employers on the benefits of hiring this population, by sharing success stories from Brevard businesses currently employing these individuals.

The team will develop referral processes with other partners, conducting “Second Chance” job fairs and exploring ways to create a re-entry center that provides comprehensive services to expand employment opportunities.

Murphy added, “It was a privilege to be able to represent Brevard in Washington and be recognized for our work on this project.  This national challenge was an excellent opportunity for our workforce staff to learn new skills that are highly transferable to all processes and customer segments CareerSource Brevard serves.”

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CareerSource Brevard is the area authority on workforce development, providing comprehensive services, labor market information and access to resources for businesses and career seekers. Visit www.careersourcebrevard.com or call (321) 504-7600 for more information about our services and resources.