Carrie Rosingana joins MBN’s Jeffrey Mosher on the Michigan Business Beat. Carrie is the COO, EOO, and CEO of the Capital Area Michigan Works! (CAMW!) located in Lansing, MI. In this interview, Carrie talks about the program services at CAMW! Capital Area Michigan Works! is a network of resources and a proud partner of the American Job Center network. They partner with businesses to develop recruiting and retention strategies and we partner with job seekers to enhance education and career opportunities.

Watch full interview with Carrie now! 

~Transcription~

QUESTION: What are “programs” at Capital Area Michigan Works!?

ANSWER: “Programs” at CAMW! are one of the areas people most commonly struggle to understand. We have program services any individual in our community can access, like the computers and resources in the American Job Centers during non-COVID times, our social media and our workshops. Formally these public services are our Wagner Peyser Act Employment Services, but you can guess by the lengthy name why we don’t often use the formal title.

And then we have our more intensive programs services. Our career coaches at CAMW! provide services that help remove barriers to help people believe their goals have meaning and to see there are options to get there. As I’ve seen firsthand, these services are truly invaluable. When you help someone find their footing and believe in their goals, you watch that person not only change their life, but you see the potential for change in their family’s lives for generations to come.

QUESTION: What impacts do CAMW!’s programs have on individuals and on our community? ANSWER: CAMW!’s programs offer a broad range of opportunities, but the common link is that our programs help people in our region – in Ingham, Clinton and Eaton counties – strengthening the communities where we live, work and play. The programs help job seekers who enter our offices – or in recent times, meet us over the phone or online – and often feel lost. We make connections between employers and job seekers who are ready to meet a business’ unique organizational needs. CAMW! and its career coaches help our region through the partnerships we’ve built to support the work the community collectively does to better the lives of those we serve.

Our programs can help eligible program participants pay for tuition and retraining, obtain uniforms, secure transportation to and from work and coordinate child care – all necessary and massively challenging parts of getting and keeping a job. Our youth programs help young people re-engage with the education system and obtain their diplomas or GEDs, gain work experience, learn soft skills that will lead to employment and build a support network of people who will help them for years to come.

QUESTION: As CEO, what are your plans relating to CAMW!’s programs?

ANSWER: I actually started my career at CAMW! as a career coach working directly with program participants to help them identify their career and educational goals, remove barriers to success and celebrate achievements as they were happening alongside participants. My earliest days at CAMW! were spent working directly in our programs, which helps to explain why they’re one of my priority areas as CEO. I’ve sat across from participants who’ve started in one of our programs while struggling with homelessness, food insecurity and little to no work experience. The ability to help someone or improve hiring practices for a local business uplifts the region we work and live in. The programs that we offer at CAMW! are truly the heart of what we do in the greater Lansing community. Moving forward, I will continue to work on the expansion of how we can best serve our community through our programs. I’d like to see us grow the number of tools we offer through our programs in a digital format. Offering tools and programs digitally will allow access to resources to individuals that may not work a traditional 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule. I want to also see us offer an increased number of virtual workshops for both job seekers and employers that allow for us to connect to more people in our region and to have these resources available on our website for people to access in the future. 

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