So very happy today after getting an email from one of the HOPE Project graduates, Alyssia Suarez interview Saturday with a government contractor in Herndon VA.  She was hired on the spot!  She starts in a couple weeks.  What makes her story so great is that she is about to start a job that pays $42,000 a year and she is only 22.  What makes her story so amazing is that this time last year she was unemployed and without many options.  Alyssia currently works for a Dept. of Defense Contractor in Northern Virginia on the help desk.  The HOPE Project program continues to amaze.  Visit the website to read more success stories. www.hopeprojectdc.org

Stop saying there are no JOBS!!

I continue to hear people all over the DC area complaining that there are no jobs, it's simply not true.  There are PLENTY of jobs for people with in demand skills.  For example just last week during the first day of the Fall HOPE Project training program I got a request from IT recruiter Brandon Berlinrut of Veredus a staffing agency for HP Enterprise Services.  Brandon stopped by the class to recruit our new HOPE Project students for several help desk/call center positions.  Yes you heard me, Brandon has several positions available.  What we are dealing with in the DMV is a skills gap the chronically unemployed and young adults simply don't have the required skill to compete with the highly educated and highly skilled workers in DC.  So when we see the August Jobs report article on Bloomberg describe the shortage of skilled workers I simply laugh because we've been talking about it for years now. Check out this interesting BET News article about the HOPE Project program, click here.

Celebrating HOPE Project graduates on News Channel 8

Wanted to share the my most recent interview.  Bruce Depuyt of News Channel 8 wanted us to come on and talk about the HOPE Project success.  I used this time to celebrate the success of the graduates and showcase how the HOPE Project graduates have succeeded when other young people including college graduates are struggling.  The HOPE graduates have an average salary equal to college graduates, $35,000 a year.  We also introduced the HOPE Project campaign to train 1,000 young people with skills that lead directly to a job and career.  I decided not to spend my interview criticizing the DC City Council or mayor for their lack of ideas to improve the unemployment of young people.  Sadly I introduced the HOPE Project recently to a council member and my introduction included an employment report of the previous 2 years success, offer letters from dozens of students they are now working on major federal government contracts, I talked about how we have IT recruiters and government contractors emailing and calling me regularly looking for talent. The council members response was...  "So what can I do to help"  Sad, Sad, Sad.  I just gave him a blueprint to help hundreds of unemployed people and his response is "What can I do to help"  and people wonder why things are so bad in DC for certain groups of people.

Why having a felony isn't whats keeping felons from getting hired

As a workforce development expert, I am constantly asked what can be done to get returning citizens into the workforce.  The answer is very simple.  "They need in demand skills just like the rest of us."  90% of the returning citizens that I speak with would have a hard time finding a job if they didn't have any background issues, the truth is they are just not qualified. The solution is in comprehensive workforce development model after one of the most successful job training program in the country, the HOPE Project (www.hopepeojectdc.org)  The HOPE Project graduates with background issues are landing positions with great success.  One of the programs most successful graduates is Segfried Smith a 2011 graduates currently enrolled in a CISCO certification program at Prince Georges Community College and a employee of Barrister Global Service Network.  So before we begin to point the finger at employers we should make sure we have done everything possible to prepare our returning citizens for today's high skilled workforce.

Rallies are cool but its time for some action!

I have watched the country debate the Trayvon Martin murder for nearly a month now, and I have yet to hear anyone call for action to address the needs of young black boys like Trayvon.  There are thousands of young black boys that drop out of school each year yet we NEVER TAKE ACTION.  Every year thousands of young black boys are killed by other young black boys, yet we NEVER TAKE ACTION.  The rate of HIV/AIDS in the nations capital is at epidemic proportions, yet we NEVER TAKE ACTION. Many outsiders are watching the black community hold countless rallies and demonstrations for the murder of a young boy at the hands of a white man and many are probably saying why aren't they rallying for other ills in the black community.  I am inspired by the show of support for young Trayvon, and I'm 100% behind the effort to bring Mr. Zimmerman to justice.  We have to be careful with demonstrating today and turning our backs tomorrow on the thousands of young black boys that need our help. Can you imagine how other young black boys are feeling right now knowing that they have lost brothers, cousins, uncles and friends to violence and the killer was never brought to justice.  They are probably saying "what makes Trayvon's life more valuable than the life of my friend or relative, why haven't they rallied for the killer of my people to be brought to justice."  I'm asking 1000 black men and boys to meet me at a location in April, to create an ACTION PLAN to save a generation of young black boys.  I'm working on a location, when it's announced don't meet me there beat me there.  BRING YOUR IDEAS AND YOUR ENERGY!   The H.O.P.E. Project program was ONLY the beginning of this movement, it's time to take it to the NEXT LEVEL, IT'S TIME FOR SOME ACTION!

DC Dept. of Employment Services Training Dollars Cut

In the Washington metropolitan area there are so many employment opportunities, in areas such as IT, healthcare, and education.  Great example of how bad things have become is the recent decision by the DC Department of Employment Services, DOES to cut the amount an individual can receive to attend an approved training provider, from $8,000 to ONLY $4,000.  It is virtually impossible to learn a skill to compete with DC's highly educated and skilled workforce on 4 grand.  That's DC's idea - to simply cut the training dollars for Dc residents.

HOPE is REAL!

The H.O.P.E. Project, aka the "Harvard of the Hood" addresses high unemployment in Washington, DC offering a technology training program to residents of the poorest Ward in the city. Over 150 young people attended the information session and town hall on jobs that followed. This very unique unfunded IT training program prepares socially and economically disadvantaged young adults for help desk careers with an average student starting salary of $37,500. Several students have accepted offers of $40,000 per year or more. The highest student starting salary is $47,500 per year.

The jobless rate in the poorest part of the District of Columbia is higher than in any U.S. metropolitan area with a labor-force of comparable size, according to figures released by the city government.

Unemployment in the district’s Ward 8 climbed to 28.2 percent in June 2011. Ward 8 now has a bright light called the H.O.P.E. Project. The program is turning Ward 8 residents from TANF recipients into $40,000 a year help desk analysts.

This ground breaking program has existed for three years without any federal, city or corporate funding. The program is 100 percent volunteer. Although a volunteer program, the H.O.P.E. Project has produced success rates unmatched in the Washington metropolitan area. The H.O.P.E. Project’s brand is so popular that the program holds just two information sessions a year to fill 16 slots. This year’s information sessions drew 209 young adults. The information sessions were held at the 7th District Police Station and Matthew Memorial Baptist Church.

The program is the recruiting ground for many of the top information technology staffing companies in the Washington, DC area and firms from Florida and Texas have partnered with the H.O.P.E. Project. Additionally, several technology firms have recruited and hired H.O.P.E. Project students, including Competitive Innovations, MIL Corporation, MMC Group, RCG Inc. and Battelle. Competitive Innovations donated SharePoint training vouchers and exam manuals. The program boasts an amazing record of 100 percent pass rate for the CompTIA A+ exam. Several students have earned multiple certifications since graduating.

In December 2011, four students interviewed with MIL Corporation to fill several Customer Support Analyst positions. All four students were offered positions. They are currently going through the clearance process. The program has become so popular because of the success of the participants one student relocated from Greensboro, North Carolina after hearing about the program.

The H.O.P.E. Project is in partnership with Share Tech Solutions, an HUB Zone information technology company, to staff and manage their 24/7 helpdesk and call center operation. The Share Tech Solutions partnership will give new students the opportunity to earn income and gain valuable helpdesk experience right away.

The 2012 H.O.P.E. Project class has set several program records, including the fastest class to have a student land a help desk position and the most students from a single class to accept an information technology position before graduation. To date, 14 students have accepted offers of employment. The class currently has 18 students, only 2 were employed when the program started.

The H.O.P.E. Project class meets Tuesday and Thursday evenings and one Saturday each month. The program is a 9 month commitment. The program has very strict attendance policies. Several students have perfect attendance and no student has missed more than 3 days since the program began in September 2011. The 2012 class graduates in June. The 18 students are expected to graduate with their CompTIA A+ certification and be employed as a help desk professional.

The H.O.P.E. is an information technology career training program that prepares socially and economically disadvantaged young people for rewarding careers as help desk professionals. Visit the website www.hopeprojectdc.org.

The Ray Bell Show Online Radio by Raymond Bell | Blog Talk Radio

The Ray Bell Show Online Radio by Raymond Bell | Blog Talk Radio

How the 9th grade changed my life

I must say that I have several moments that have shaped my life, but the single biggest defining moment for me was as a ninth grader at Stuart Junior High School, in North east Washington DC. During the spring of my ninth grade year my English teacher Ms. Lowery asked if I was ready for some new challenges. Ms Lowery was a middle-age Jewish women that pushed me academically. She secretly secured a slot for me to take the entrance exam at St. Albans High School in Georgetown. I was the only student she approached about the opportunity. 

I was so excited about the chance to become a student at such a prestigious school. After class I finished my school day and ran to the bus stop to head back to the southside to let my mother and all my friends know that I was going to St. Albans to take the entrance exam. My mom called all of our relatives and her friends; I walked up and down the neighborhood telling everyone I was going to St. Albans.

My entire neighborhood was aware of the opportunity and they wanted me to show those others kids that "we're just as smart and even smarter than they are." So now I had the entire community on my back, I was no longer representing just myself and my family I was representing the entire neighborhood.

The rest of the week and weekend I was the community big shot because I was the kid from the neighborhood that was going to make it. On the day of the exam, my mom and I caught 3 buses to get to St. Albans. When we arrive at the campus, it was if we were in another world, everything was different, the cars, houses, people, everything was very different from what I was use to.

The counselor greeted us and escorted us to a very large room with about 40 other kids. As I sat and patiently waited I noticed that I was the only African American kid in the room. After a short wait they walked us around campus, they had an indoor pool, huge basketball gym, weight room, everything. I could see myself shooting hoops after school already. 

Finally we were taken to the testing room, my mom gave me a hug and kiss and wished me good luck. As I slid into my chair I was beginning to realize that this was not the DC public school system, where I was always the smartest kid in the room. Once the proctor was passed out the test and the pencils issued, it was my chance to prove to all of these "white boys" that we are just as smart as they are.

All of the students were from public schools, many of them from very upscale neighborhoods in northern Virginia and Maryland, places like Reston, Arlington and Potomac. 

I started the test and immediately realized that I was way over my head. Some of the questions were so difficult my head started spinning. As I looked around I saw other students briskly going through the questions as if test was an after school extra credit assignments. 

I was devastated. The feeling I had, handing the test in to the proctor, still haunts me to this day, 30 years later. I was so distraught after the exam, my mom put us in a cab, instead of taking the three buses back home, which we really could not afford.

The ride home was very long and painful, my mother did everything she could to console me, nothing worked. I felt as if I had let the entire neighborhood down, as well as my family. Everyone knew about me going to St. Albans to take the entrance exam.

When the cab pulled up to my apartment building all of my friends were sitting on the steps of my building waiting on me to arrive so I could tell them how I aced the test and crushed all of them whites boys.

I had to tell them that I had failed and that I was not as smart as those other kids. My mom tried to rush me into the house so that I would not have to answer any of the questions. Not only was I going up there to prove that we are just as smart but it was my friends way of living through me. The school and the surrounding community was so vastly different from what we had all grown up seeing everyday.

I refused my moms shielding and expressed to my friends that I did not do well on the test. My friends were very supportive and encouraged me to try again and told me that I'm still the smartest kid in our neighborhood. So now I'm feeling much better but I now needed to discuss this exam with my English teacher Ms. Lowery. 

The exam was on a Saturday, so I played ball all weekend and watched wrestling with my friends and started to move into another set of emotions about the exam, I had become angry with my teacher, for sending me to St. Albans, without properly preparing me to compete against those kids from the suburbs.

So on Monday I walked into my Ms. Lowery's class and ask her to please step into the hallway. She could tell that I was not very happy. I asked her why would set me up, by sending me to St. Albans to compete against those white boys, when she knew I wasn't as smart as they were. She calmed me down and asked me to take a look into the classroom, I peeped my head into the door and the students were goofing around, reading sports magazines and having small talk. I asked why did she want me to look into the classroom? She told me that the kids I met at St. Albans were my competition, that those were the kids I would face when I got out of her class and out of high school, and not the kids in her 9th grade English class. She went on to say that she could not teach me everything I needed to learn to be competitive in the global economy that was coming, at the time I had no clue what the global economy really meant. 

She wanted me to see first hand who my competition for the best jobs, best opportunities would be. That experience shaped my life and made me realize that I should never evaluate myself by the comforts of my surroundings and to read, study and work as hard as possible so when my opportunity comes knocking I would be ready. I have lived by that principle, to be as prepared as possible because you'll never know when it's time to take the exam called life.