Young adults ready for summer work

EOPA, now ‘Pathway,’ announces jobs

Olisha Pryer, 21, bottom left, watches Twyla Wheaton sign the LCEP Worksite contract during the Lucas County Empowerment Program celebration at the Hamilton Building in Toledo.

THE BLADE/LORI KING
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Olisha Pryer, 21, bottom left, watches Twyla Wheaton sign the LCEP Worksite contract during the Lucas County Empowerment Program celebration at the Hamilton Building in Toledo.

About 250 young adults learned Friday that they would be participating in a summer job placement program offered by the Economic Opportunity Planning Association of Greater Toledo, which announced it has changed its name to Pathway.

Both announcements were made at a three-hour celebration in front of the Hamilton Building, in the 500 block of Hamilton Street, attended by job seekers, area dignitaries, and representatives of area employers.

“I am very excited, and I am looking forward to starting [the job] on Monday,” Alvelia Farmer, 20, of Toledo said. “I am here to seek summer employment so I could keep busy this summer and stay out of trouble.”

The 2011 Woodward High School graduate who majors in psychology at the University of Toledo was one of between 60 and 80 young people who completed a this week’s training session. They will start their jobs on Monday, with groups of equal size to follow in their steps on a weekly basis, said Stanley Lowe, Pathway’s chief executive officer.

Jerradis Bradford removes the cover to the new sign.

About 10 representatives from area companies and nonprofit organizations attended Friday’s event, looking to sign contracts with Pathway, Mr. Lowe said. Potential employers that had expressed interest in Pathway range from ProMedica to The Andersons Inc., to Kuhlman Corp., to Toledo School for the Arts, he said.

The program will place about 700 teens and young adults in the work force through late September. Mr. Lowe said he’s identified about 130 potential employers that could accept the workers who will receive $8 an hour for eight weeks. The job seekers are between 18-24 years old, he said.

The celebration kicked off with the Scott High School marching band, continued with addresses by local dignitaries, then wrapped up with tours of classrooms where the program’s classes take place.

Ms. Farmer said the EOPA training she completed this week focused on topics such as character-building skills and resume writing.

Contact Mike Sigov at: sigov@theblade.com, 419-724-6089, or on Twitter @mikesigovblade.