REGISTER

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4.4 million Americans put in their resignation letters at the beginning of 2022.

As employers continue to grapple with the talent shortage, some manufacturers are having success hiring more non-traditional candidates and using innovative and inclusive methods in their recruitment.   Non-traditional candidates are people with relevant skills who may not meet traditional job requirements. Education and experience are often overlooked and maybe even excluded when sorting through resumes or applications. Innovative and inclusive methods in recruitment start with investment in your talent to build a better workforce, investment in your strategies to build pools of diverse talent and a change in mindset during interviewing and onboarding.

IMEC welcomes Karen DeGrasse, workforce development expert with over 15 years of experience working with unique individuals from untapped communities. In this session, Karen will share her experience and expertise on how to become more inclusive in your selection process. You will also learn about solutions to complement your hiring, onboarding, and retention strategies.

Karen’s focus has been on employment training, recruitment, and retention initiatives with people of color, the homeless, neurodivergent, incarcerated, justice-impacted citizens, youth between 18-24 who didn’t go to college, limited English speakers, and others. She believes there are plenty of people looking for work. Join us to really understand employers should consider updating their mindset regarding their talent acquisition and retention strategies because the current system creates employment barriers.

Presenter:

Karen Degrasse | Co-Founder, Next Edge Corporate Partners, Inc

Karen is a purpose-driven professional with 15 years of experience in Workforce Development, focused on recruitment initiatives in untapped communities and designing training curricula for people of color, the homeless, and neurodivergent.

Karen’s experience as a Sector Manager at Safer Foundation gave her valuable frontline experience coaching employment skills to returned citizens with a criminal record and incarcerated youth at Cook County Juvenile Detention Center. While collaborating with social enterprise, BSD Industries, Karen managed a million-dollar budget, led and designed a transformational Employment Training Program funded by the IL Department of Human Services. She is the Co-Founder of Next Edge Corporate Partners Inc. providing workforce training solutions for Employers interested in diversifying their workforce with untapped talent. She is also Founder of Get P.A.I.D. Society which offers long-term coaching and mentoring for training Alumni.

Contact Name: Simone Walker
Contact Email: swalker@imec.org