Supporting Access to Employment Resources in the Latinx community
We are proud to announce that ANDARES is partnering with Northwest Oregon Works in the project “Comunidad y Empleo”, which is part of its Workforce Benefits Navigation program. Our goal is to remove barriers and facilitate access to workforce benefits and resources in the Latinx community in Benton and Lincoln Counties. This involves facilitating access to the resources provided by the WorkSource Oregon centers in both counties, assisting individuals navigate the system of resources and benefits, and offering learning activities that enhance people’s opportunities for employment. We are excited about this project, which together with our business incubation project, is part our economic inclusion programmatic area.
Northwest Oregon Works (NOW) has received Future Ready Oregon funding from the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission in the form of Prosperity 10,000 funds, a Workforce Benefits Navigator Grant. Future Ready Oregon (Senate Bill 1545, 2022) is a $200 million investment in education and training to advance a more equitable workforce system and increase opportunities for diverse workers. Future Ready Oregon drives innovative and collaborative partnerships between employers, education providers, and community-based organizations to prioritize opportunities for Oregon’s historically underserved and underrepresented communities, including adult learners, dislocated workers, and disconnected youth. Future Ready Oregon aims to strengthen Oregon’s economic competitiveness by removing barriers to education and employment, developing a diverse workforce, and supporting businesses’ needs for employees today and into the future. Learn more about the sector-focused Workforce Ready Grants here and Future Ready Oregon here.
In the photograph, Ricardo Contreras, Executive Director of ANDARES, with our partners Katrina Sturgeon from Northwest Oregon Works, and Cristian Hernandez from El Centro NW at the Working Together Conference, which took place in October 2024 in Bend.