In Charlottesville and Albemarle, 5,600 families, or 17 percent, do not make enough money to pay for the essentials of life—food, shelter, clothing, and utilities, and the added costs associated with working childcare and transportation. The goal of PVCC’s Network2Work Program is to help these families become self-sufficient by identifying jobs within their reach and positioning them to secure and excel in those jobs.
PVCC’s program serves the college’s entire service region, which includes the city of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson.
HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK?
It all starts with the job. Network2Work uses a simple, Web-based job ticket that employers complete. Jobs must pay at least $25,000 ($12.50/hour) or more and not require a college degree. Ticket information includes skills and experience needed to perform the job, salary and benefits information, expected hours, etc. Once the ticket is complete, the peer network then goes into the community and selects the right person for the job. Network2Work then connects the person selected to the training and support he or she needs.
HOW DOES NETWORK2WORK FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE?
Once the employers’ needs are known, PVCC uses neighborhood-based people, known as peers, to identify individuals fit for the job. Neighborhood-based peers are individuals who are well connected and well respected in their communities. These are the people who are at the center of social networks that exist in PVCC’s service region—in neighborhoods, schools, places of worship, and immigrant communities. These are the individuals who “know everybody.” More importantly, they are individuals in the community to whom people turn for information and advice.
WHAT RESOURCES DOES NETWORK2WORK PROVIDE FOR JOB SEEKERS?
Once the peer network identifies a good match for an available job, Network 2 Work creates a pathway that will provide that individual with the resources he or she needs to secure the job. Resources may include:
Work skills (e.g., literacy, workplace readiness, or technical)
Life management (e.g., childcare, transportation, stable shelter, or apparel)
Health (e.g., physical, mental, or substance abuse recovery)
Once a job-seeker completes the pathway charted for them, a third-party conducts an “exit interview” as a quality assurance measure to make sure the individual has the skills and resources they need in order to excel at the job.
WHAT IS THE SUCCESS RATE OF THIS PROGRAM?
To date, 80 percent of Network 2 Work’s job seekers have found jobs; 60 percent of those jobs pay more than $25,000 annually. Thirty-one percent of the participants are single moms
For more information about Network 2 Work, please click on the links below:
History of the Program
Meet the Team
Community Partners
Orange Dot Reports 📷 Orange Dot Report 2011, 📷 Orange Dot Report 2.0 2015, 📷 Orange Dot 3.0 2018
Want to Donate to the Program? Click here
