Oyatta Hanny, a Career Coach in the RPC's Workforce Development Program, Connects Residents to Resources

As a Career Coach in the RPC’s Workforce Development program, Oyatta Hanny is focused on providing guidance, training, and resources to clients so that they can identify pathways and set goals to compete successfully in the labor market. She also provides basic career services to walk-in clients at the East Central Illinois workNet Center in Champaign, as well as individualized job training case management to program participants.

It was the experience of a client at a recent event at Champaign’s Douglass Branch Library, however, that Oyatta points to as an excellent example of the support available to job seekers in our community. Another part of her job is to connect RPC clients to partners in the local workforce system and other community resources. The teamwork on display at this event has set the client on the path to success, as she talks about here:

“For the event, we partnered with the Champaign Public Library, the Champaign Unit 4 School District, the Urbana 116 School District, Parkland College’s Project Read, and Urbana Neighborhood Connection. I attended so I could assist with Job Engine Search and preparing people for job interviews, while also talking about our program.

“Prior to the event, a gentleman from Mexico named Juventino came in with his sister. He was new to America and was looking for a job in an electrical and/or industrial warehouse. Since he spoke no English, his sister had to translate for him. I gave him a copy of our flyer and a copy of a flyer detailing scholarships for job training. He saw Electrical Power and other jobs that he has performed and wanted to know more about the program.

“I explained our WIOA program to Juventino and explained that our open enrollment period would not begin until June. He was okay with waiting but wanted to look at some potential jobs. I went on the computer to complete a job search. I also informed him about the event at the Douglass Branch Library, which he could benefit from, as well. He wanted to enroll in the ESL program, and since Project READ was scheduled to be at the event, they could speak with him.

“Juventino came to the event, learned about all our services, created an email address, learned how to search for jobs on the computer, practiced interviewing with the basics, and found clothing for interviews. The next day, he went back to the library because he got a job offer from one of the employers I helped him apply with. He worked with Amanda Raklovits, the Children’s Librarian at Douglass, to update his resume as the employer had requested, and printed off more information from our website about the WIOA Electrician Training Scholarship Program that he got from our flyer.

“He interviewed with the employer and has also been receiving tutoring from Project READ as part of his ESL process until he can attend Parkland College’s Adult Education program in the Fall. I worked with Tawanna Nickens from Parkland on the enrollment process for Juventino.

“This experience was such a great example of the partnership and teamwork we regularly achieve with all these resources – working with the community for this one client. It truly works when we work together. The whole team was so excited and felt this interaction was a success due to Juventino’s accomplishments and high hopes for the future.”