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Line 45 was founded by in 2014 to help small and medium-sized companies use technology to make informed business decisions and work more efficiently. They provide custom software development focusing on web and mobile technologies with a specialization in geospatial software. Line 45 takes a proactive approach toward employee development because they are a consulting company and consulting is inherently a thought-based industry. Gaining new knowledge in technical and management areas helps them better acquire and serve new clients. Line 45 of Gaylord was awarded $1,350 in Going PRO Talent Funds to train 1 employee, Jessica Kane, in how to configure a base deployment for Esri's ArcGIS Enterprise platform. The training was provided by Esri. Jessica has been with Line 45 for 5 years. She started off as a Business and GIS Analyst and now is a Project Manager and GIS Developer. After this training, Line 45 expects to give her a 10% raise this year. The training helped Jessica gain knowledge in Esri's ArcGIS Enterprise system, which will help her work with clients (state agencies and other organizations) that use Esri software to implement more streamlined information management systems. Line 45 expects this training will help them expand their current service offerings to both current and new clients. In addition, they train to retain. Line 45 recognizes that good talent wants to get something back from work and feel appreciated, therefore training their staff helps them develop as individuals, making them more likely to stay highly motivated and stay engaged with their company. Management points out that feeling empowered helps their team do better work and have a more positive attitude, which is good for them and reflects well on the entire organization. Jessica states, “The Esri training I was table to attend thanks to the Going PRO program will be invaluable to my work at Line 45. It will allow me to deploy enterprise GIS systems for clients who have complex or strict data management policies.”

Monica Alexander was taking accelerated courses at Alpena Community College, which included the transition from LPN to RN. Her expected graduation date was 12/21, but she was worried that wasn't going to happen because she was having difficulties trying to cover all the costs included. Monica came to Michigan Works! to see if they could help. Utilizing WIOA Adult funds, Michigan Works! was able to help Monica pay for her tuition costs, books, required clothing, and laptop replacement. Thanks to the assistance Michigan Works! was able to provide, Monica has so far completed her LPN portion of training on 3/26/21. Monica has what it takes to work hard and plans to continue to complete her goals of becoming an RN. "Thank you so much for everything!," says Monica. "You have been such an amazing help to me during this journey. I appreciate everything."

Martha LaPoint was working but not getting enough hours and not using her skills to help people the way she knew she could. She was looking for a more rewarding career, so she came to Michigan Works! for guidance. Michigan Works staff helped Martha draft a resume to highlight her relevant skills and worked on interviewing skills with her. Staff covered proper language to use during an interview, key words Martha could use to grab an employer's attention while positively promoting her worth. Shortly after working with Michigan Works, Martha had a 2.5 hr interview and ended up landing her desired position! "I phoned MI WORKS! Grayling with much frustration and distress because I needed to have an updated resume and did not know how to navigate the computer to accomplish this task," says Martha. "A cheery voice answered my call. Christina guided and taught me over the phone. She spent over 2 hours initially with composing my resume and providing job leads." "We scheduled a second phone contact a couple of days later and Christina taught me how to interview. She worked with me for over two hours role-playing the interview process. Christina gave me helpful interview suggestions and emailed interviewing materials so I could continue to practice how to interview." "I needed help with my resume, job leads, and how to interview and Christina went above and beyond what I expected when I made the initial phone contact with MI WORKS! I was offered the job at RISE Center at my 2 1/2 hour interview. I believe that the help Christina provided gave me the confidence to accomplish my goal of finding a job. "I truly appreciate the assistance, encouragement and support Christina provided to me in the effort to find suitable, gainful employment. Thank you Christina, and thank you Michigan Works!"

Brian True had lost his job the same morning he came in to Michigan Works! in Grayling. He looked disheartened as he talked to the Michigan Works! Career Navigator, Chris Southwell. They talked about his skillset, what he was looking for, and that he was a veteran. Brian was feeling like he had chosen the wrong profession to sharpen his skills when he lost his job, but Michigan Works! staff were able to boost his confidence a bit when their quick actions led to multiple employers wanting him right away! While Career Navigator Marie Thompson gathered Brian’s resume information, CN Chris Southwell made some calls for employment opportunities. Business Solutions Professional Alayne Hansen, who communicates closely with employers in the area, knew exactly where to look to place Brian. Knowing he had the experience that quite a few employers were actively seeking, Michigan Works! staff made a few phone calls. One call was to Furnace Guru, who had been looking for an HVAC Technician. Brian contacted the company right away (literally in the Michigan Works! parking lot) and was hired on the spot via a phone interview. Brian came back into the office all smiles to let the helpful Michigan Works! staff know that he’d be starting his new job the very next morning! Not only was Brian ecstatic to find new employment so quickly, it really made the Michigan Works! staff’s day to use teamwork to help a displaced worker find new employment so quickly! In addition, Brian’s new position pays $2 more per hour than his previous job! Brian states, “The staff was very helpful and connected me with an employer within 15 minutes – who hired me on the spot! I am very thankful for their services and I would highly recommend them for any displaced workers!”

"I reached out to Michigan Works as I was struggling to pay for my training at Alpena Community College," says Nicholas Byrne. "My dream job was to become a lineman, and after a few years of college I decided to get into the Consumer's Energy lineman program at Alpena Community College. After using my savings to pay for my college, I was going to be short the money to pay for my lineman classes." "Michigan Works! got back with me almost instantly, and they began to help me through the enrollment process. After completing all of my paperwork, I was informed I would be awarded the perfect amount to pay for my final portion of training," states Nicholas. "I am very grateful for all the help and support from Michigan Works! Thanks to their assistance, I now work for Consumers Energy as an Apprentice Lineman!" "I was involved in sports throughout high school, and I was awarded a scholarship to play baseball in college. But I decided that my path was not in business and I decided to save money in order to pay for my lineman training. My first semester was paid through savings, and I was granted an opportunity to go through Consumers Energy 11-week training program through Alpena’s advanced certificate program." "I was tremendously challenged when I realized I was becoming very short on funds as I continued to pursue my dream. Michigan Works!, and all of its associates, were extremely helpful, and they walked me step by step through any questions I had. If it weren’t for Michigan Works!, I would be extremely far in debt and not able to start the way I have."

Angie Souva was a nursing student at Kirtland Community College. With no financial aid available to her, she was working multiple jobs to try to make ends meet while putting herself through college. With WIOA Adult assistance from Michigan Works! Northeast Consortium, Angie was able to receive tuition assistance and mileage reimbursement. With this additional support, Angie has been able to obtain better grades and reduce her stress levels. Appreciative of the support she received from her Michigan Works! Career Advisor (Jackie Gransden), Angie states, "Thanks Jackie for all your help. This semester has been so much easier with you and Michigan Works! helping me." Thanks to WIOA Adult funds, Angie is finding it much easier to make ends meet. She reports that the help from MW! has been beneficial both financially and mentally. Angie has been way less stressed and can now be more focused on her goals of becoming an RN.

Allband Communications Cooperative’s primary mission is providing affordable and advanced telephone, 911 and broadband services to residents in Northeastern Michigan who do not have access to advanced telecommunications offered in neighboring more populated cities or other urban areas. Allband has focused its attention on project development that will allow low-income households, welfare recipients and struggling businesses the ability to utilize broadband fiber access to pursue new careers, opportunities and applications that will speed Michigan’s economic recovery. Allband’s unique ability to build high-speed networks in rural areas has given our community a new tool to address its economic hardships. Allband has long struggled with the recruitment of skilled workers and/or the retainment of employees after they are trained. Attracting skilled talent to our region who are specific to our industry can be a challenge and past attempts to recruit people to the area have resulted in quick departures. Past attempts to train local employees with our unique skill sets have also been a letdown as people often move on after a while for more money and better benefits. Since Allband is located in an extremely rural “blue collar” region, it can be a challenge recruiting people to relocate here as a tech-centric workforce seems to prefer more populated urban areas. Offering the benefits and compensation to attract said skilled workers is also a challenge as Allband is more often than not navigating the financial obstacles that come bundled with our unique rural business model. Recently, Allband has also had to navigate the loss of two senior technicians who took several years of experience and knowledge with them, leaving the Cooperative with several partially trained staff in the field of fiber optic outside plant construction and administration. An ill-timed issue given the recent spike in demand for broadband in rural areas post COVID-19. Michigan Works! Northeast Consortium was able to provide Incumbent Worker Training to train 3 Allband employees in an intensive 3-day training. Allband reports the ability to obtain grant subsidies from Michigan Works was a blessing. General Manager, Ron Siegal states, “Allband Communications recently received financial support from the Michigan Works! Incumbent Worker Training Program and I cannot say enough about the positive experience we have had with the Northeast Consortium staff. They were patient, helpful, supportive, knowledgeable and genuinely cared about the success of our cooperative and the career development of our staff. As a rural telephone and broadband provider, cash flow is always a challenge, so the funding we received was critical as it allowed us to secure the onsite training our technicians needed to improve their skills, earn a better wage and higher locally. The application process was smooth and the MW! staff kept us in the loop in terms of needed material and deadlines, and the training went better than expected!” "After researching the best way to train our outside plant staff, it was obvious that it would cost a considerable amount of money to bring trainers to Curran, MI where we are located. It is common for companies to send their techs away for training as it is less expensive, but due to our size and unique methodologies, it made more sense to bring the trainers here so they could customize the curriculum around our specific needs and with the same equipment we use every day. Helping with the cost of the training was a tremendous help to us, as we are now able to re-direct the training savings to improved equipment, tools and upgrades for the technicians (which was recommended by the trainers) and has also allowed us to absorb the expense of much-needed wage increases while we are operating during our “slow season” when revenues decrease overall. Overall, the training program has enhanced our efforts to higher locally, improve compensation/benefits and ultimately retain skilled workers."