**Update**
The Virtual Action Roundtable (VART) that took place on July 29 as a part of this project has produced action. The VART gave employer-partners the opportunity to co-design meaningful strategies to improve belonging and inclusion in the workplace for employees of color. The employer-partners involved in the project issued this statement following the VART.
We strive to create inclusive workplaces that encourage, support, and celebrate the diverse voices of our employees. It fuels innovation and connects us closer to our customers and the communities we serve. As a 2021 employer-partner with America’s Promise Alliance and the YES project, we have committed to implementing strategies co-designed with youth partners that will foster inclusion, belonging, and satisfaction in the workplace for young professionals of color.
From July 28:
Macon, Ga. – Raising Expectations of Achievement (REACH) organization members at Central Georgia Technical College (CGTC) spent a part of their summer serving as Young Professionals for a grant-funded project to explore race, identity, and belonging in the workforce.
In May, the YES Project—Young, Employed, Successful—a national youth employment initiative led by America’s Promise Alliance, announced the CGTC Foundation as a community-level grantee to host Virtual Action Roundtable conversations in partnership with employers and young workers.
The City of Milledgeville, Spherion Staffing and Recruiting, and Georgia Artisan Furnishings are the employers committed to supporting REACH student representatives in job shadowing and other immersive workplace learning activities.
The CGTC REACH program, which is a student organization established to promote the success of underserved populations, primarily young men of color, in postsecondary education and the workplace, is a natural fit to produce hard-working young people.
“It’s so important to be able to work with people who are around you who are different from you,” said Jordan Tolbert, a REACH member and dual enrollment student from First Presbyterian Day School in Macon. “So, I’m very interested to see what it is like to be engaged with people like that.”
Read more about the grant here: CGTC Foundation Among Six Community Partnerships to Explore Race, Identity, and Belonging in the Workplace
Watch the video below and view the photos for more about each of the REACH Organization’s participants in the YES Project.
VIDEO: TWO Dual Enrollment and REACH Young Professionals Job Shadow at Spherion Staffing
