Appendix E: Project Description & Brief Abstract Writing Examples
Brief Abstract
The Vineland County Library District will work with employers, the Vineland Adult Education Consortium, workforce groups, and local residents enrolled in vocational rehabilitation and employment development programs to develop employment training programs to address gaps in education-, foodservice-, and technology-related employment in the public and private sectors. This project will help community members develop careers and support local employers.
Project Description
The Vineland County Library District will work with local employers, the Vineland Adult Education Consortium, local workforce groups, and local residents enrolled in vocational rehabilitation and employment development programs to develop employment training programs to address gaps in education-, foodservice-, and technology-related employment in the public and private sectors. Vineland County employers struggle to find entry-level workers for the regional elementary school districts, and businesses report challenges in hiring tech-savvy workers for manufacturing and administrative roles. The Library offers a technology instruction lab that is open seven days a week.
The Library will accomplish this goal by convening groups of local residents from vocational rehab and one-stop centers and conducting conversations about interests, needs, and gaps in services, and using this community knowledge to inform conversations with partners and invite participants to co-create solutions.
The Library aims to achieve workable solutions to worker and employee needs in the region, such as by offering flexible training and testing for ServSafe food handler and manager jobs, specific training to help applicants understand and build skills for the government and school district employee hiring and examination process, and self- and staff-guided community training on technology skills.
The Library and community partners receive frequent requests for related training and preparation services by job hunters but do not have a coordinated, collaborative solution. Vineland County struggles with filling jobs in the specific sectors of restaurants, public schools, and technology jobs in government and manufacturing.
The project serves local job seekers, employers, workforce development agencies, and higher education by helping to co-create a streamlined training model.
Equity-Based Community Involvement
Vineland County faces two challenges: residents lack the skills they need to gain employment, and employers lack qualified applicants. This project works with library staff, employers, and agencies and involves job seekers in an equity-focused design process focused on the training that will help them find successful jobs and careers. The voices of job seekers are at the core of this project, and by involving them in the project from the start, the project developers hope that local employers, workforce agencies, and library staff will develop a shared understanding of the challenges faced by prospective job applicants.
Library staff will receive training in community partnerships, appreciative inquiry, and equity-based community involvement practices in the first three months of the project, and community partners will be invited to join in training. The library itself intends to expand partnerships, not just with the under- and un-employed but with employers, workforce agencies, vocational rehabilitation, and community business groups. Community conversations will be conducted by bilingual staff and volunteers in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The topics of barriers to service and trusted agents will be a key part of the discussion, and staff will include the following Harwood-practice questions in discussions: What do you think is keeping us from making the progress we want? When you think about what we’ve talked about, what are the kinds of things that could be done that would make a difference? Thinking back over the conversation, what groups or individuals would you trust to take action on these things? The staff team working on this grant will also meet with literacy and front-desk staff during a quarterly staff meeting to discuss findings from the community conversations and any barriers to service they have seen. Project activities, timeline, and budgets include staff training time, community meetings, development and implementation of public training programs, and funds for materials.