Ready to Work Program Provides San Antonians with Job Training in Rewarding Career Paths
Article By: Amy K. T. Contreras, Assistant to the Director, Workforce Development Office, City of San Antonio
Taxpayers and local employers have come together to launch a program to help thousands of people in San Antonio improve their quality of life and achieve professional success. Ready to Work is a training and education program that offers participants an equitable, customized approach to acquire the skills needed to secure high-paying jobs. More than $110 million is available in tuition to allow participants to pursue high school equivalency (like GEDs), certification courses, associate’s degree courses, or bachelor’s degree courses. Participants work with a personal career coach who will help with course selection, enrollment, resume development and job interview preparation.
To date, Ready to Work has enrolled 2,157 San Antonians in approved training and is partnering with hundreds of local employers that have pledged their support for the program. According to Workforce Development Office Executive Director Mike Ramsey, the wholehearted support from the San Antonio business community has been a key component in successfully launching the Ready to Work program.
“Over 300 San Antonio employers already have taken the Ready to Work Employer Pledge,” Ramsey said. “These pledged employers support the program in a variety of ways, including participating in Ready to Work Employer Roundtables on pressing workplace issues and quarterly industry sector meetings; hosting job fairs and other hiring events; and conducting mock interview sessions with our participants. They also work to ensure our curricula and training programs are developed to best meet the workforce needs of local employers across a wide range of industries. In addition, many of them have committed to hiring our graduates when they complete their training.”
Ready to Work’s pledged employers represent all sectors of the San Antonio economy, including Construction, Electrical, HVAC, Healthcare, Education, Finance, Insurance, Energy, Food and Beverage, Hospitality, Manufacturing and Transportation.
“There is a great need for skilled and well-trained employees in so many of our local business sectors,” Ramsey said. “Regardless of the industry they are in, these employers need quality employees to help move their companies forward into a successful and prosperous future.”
Ramsey emphasized that for Ready to Work participants, career and training navigation is a critical part of the Ready to Work program in helping participants achieve their career goals. “From the moment an individual connects with the program, we work with them on career navigation and help them determine what path of study or training and type of career is a good fit for them. We are very hands-on in this area and in all aspects of the career counseling we provide.”
“The Ready to Work program not only provides job-specific education, but we also help our participants develop the basic job skills that virtually every position requires,” Ramsey explained.
WellMed’s Vice President Enterprise Service Experience Sonia Garza is passionate about the purpose and mission of the Ready to Work program. “WellMed is one of the Ready to Work pledged employers and we have a long-standing relationship with the City of San Antonio,” Garza said. “Like so many local companies, we are still recovering from the pandemic. We have a huge need for skilled healthcare employees who are seeking well-paying jobs with career advancement opportunities.”
She noted that San Antonio is growing very rapidly and its medical community is growing alongside it. The local medical community offers a diverse array of healthcare careers, from nursing, physical therapy and laboratory sciences, to billing and accounting, food service and social work.
“At WellMed, we have to be very intentional about hiring and planning for the future,” Garza said. “We have a responsibility to the community, to our patients, to our partners and to our employees to maintain and grow a diverse and skilled workforce.”
Garza noted that when WellMed first took the Ready to Work Employer Pledge and became involved with the program, the company saw firsthand how Ready to Work can help WellMed meet its current and future workforce goals.
When Ready to Work participant Monica Maldonado wanted to further her training in order to get her physical therapy aide certification, she reached out to her counselor at AVANCE – San Antonio for advice. “She told me about the Ready to Work program and encouraged me to apply,” said Maldonado. “I was accepted and am currently enrolled in a physical therapy aide certification program administered online by Texas Tech University. I will be finished in just a few months and my Ready to Work coach Lorena Caldera is helping me with my resumé and in identifying job openings in my field.”
Maldonado noted that the Ready to Work team has been very helpful throughout the process. “It’s been very well organized,” she said. My coach checks in with me regularly to see how my studies are going and sends me job leads.”
Garza explained that the Ready to Work program is a win-win-win for its participants, its pledged employers and the San Antonio community at large. “The Ready to Work program is a very powerful initiative that is connecting these groups with intention, equity and integrity. The pledged employers are basically securing their future workforce and growth potential through their participation in this program.”
If you’re interested in applying to the Ready to Work program or in becoming a pledged employer, visit www.ReadyToWorkSA.com or call 3-1-1.
