As February comes to a close, and only a month after the Organization’s New Year, New Job campaign, Goodwill of North Georgia continues to see an increase in North Georgians using one or more of the organization’s 14 career centers spread throughout North Georgia and Metro Atlanta.
Over the past five years, Goodwill of North Georgia has provided services to more than 206,000 people in North Georgia, helping over 105,000 of them find new job opportunities. Goodwill offers 17 career programs for free, including Construction, Custodial, Health Environmental, Hospitality, Logistics, Maintenance, and the newest program, Electrical Vehicle Supply and Equipment, which recently completing its first training cohort. Some of these programs have seen an increase in job connections, with Forklift Training, Welding, and Technology being the most popular ones. Since the start of this year, 56 people have enrolled in Forklift Training, 40 in Welding, and 20 in Technology.
One of the success stories of Goodwill’s Welding Program is Deja Trotter, who came to Goodwill with dreams of becoming a welder, as it is a profession with few women. After being accepted into the program, Deja became a top student in her class, driven by her desire to break barriers. After completing the program, Deja received a job offer as a compactor shop technician and welder at Republic. She credits Goodwill for this life-changing opportunity.
Goodwill has also seen an increase in women enrolling in traditional men’s jobs. For example, Oletha Fraser came to Goodwill looking for help in becoming a forklift driver. Once enrolled in the program, Oletha obtained her CPR/First Aid and OSHA 10 certifications, giving her the full scope of warehouse operations. Upon graduation from the program, Oletha was hired by Americold Logistics LLC and credits Goodwill for giving her a fresh start.
As we enter the last month of the first quarter, Goodwill of North Georgia plans to continue its mission of putting people to work and reach its 2024 goal of connecting more than 21,000 people to new job opportunities.
