Mission
Statement
Our
mission is to provide individuals with guidance, hope and vision which
will lead to personal self-sufficiency and economic independence.
We
can help with Work Re-entry Training, Resume Preparation, Job Referrals
& Placements, Career Exploration .
WERC
serves women in Oneida, Madison and Herkimer counties. The main program
provided by WERC is our group training program which may vary from two to six weeks. Topics include:
Job Readiness,
Communication Skills,
Computer Literacy,
Self-Development Strategies, Customer Service Skills, Conflict Resolution Techniques, Keyboarding, Budgeting and Financial Management, Contact with various area employers, and more.
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Criteria for Displaced Homemakers
-have
been the primary caretaker of their home and family;
- are unemployed or underemployed;
- have lost financial support through divorce,
separation, death, dislocation, retirement or disability of the
family breadwinner;
-or, are no longer eligible for
government benefits or may be receiving public assistance.
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Meet
the Current Staff (pictured above):
Eleanor Moran - Executive Director
Joan Kaminski-Program Manager
Jacqueline Kussin-Trainer/Facilatator
Margaret Doane- Intake/Employment Specialist
Annette Rock-Trainer/Facilatator
Click here to read staff bios
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Current Board of Trustees 2010:
Kay Sinclair, President, Lockheed Martin
Marianne Reynolds, Treasurer, PJ Green
Suzanne Lavin, Secretary, Retired Nurse
Arlene Miller, Vice Chair, Herkimer County Employment & Training
Janet Visalli, Mohawk Valley Community College
Sharon Battaglia, Sharon’s Accounting Service
Sandra Ludwig, M. Griffith Investment Services, Inc.
Patricia Manley, Consumer Credit Counseling Service of CNY
Mary Jo Ferrare, Workforce Development Institute
Helen Rico, Air Force Research Laboratory
Kathleen Rinaldo, BOCES Consortium of Continuing Education
Sharon Zohne, Mohawk Valley Community College
History:
The Women’s Employment & Resource Center (WERC) began providing services in 1990 as the Greater Utica Displaced Homemaker Center operating under the auspices of the NYS AFL-CIO Community Services Agency. On April 28, 2000 it was granted independent not-for-profit status as a workforce development and training agency. The mission of the Center is to assist individuals in achieving personal and financial independence. Basic services are “without cost” to the participant.
In 1978 federal legislation was passed that ensured services to individuals who had been in the role of a homemaker and had lost their primary source of income due to divorce, separation, death of a spouse, or loss of public assistance. They are defined as “displaced homemakers”. Today we continue to provide computer training and job-readiness workshops that develop a job seeker who is better equipped to meet today’s employment needs. As employer requirements change so too does the curriculum of the Center.
Through its 20-year collaboration with these other agencies many of WERC’s program participants are able to: earn their GED or EDP; enroll in vocational training programs; pursue studies in “English As a Second Language”; access housing assistance; address health and nutrition concerns; acquire information on labor issues; secure child care; etc. Our collective goals are those that result in each participant having the tools, insight and knowledge to develop a career that leads to personal and financial independence.
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