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Photo: Louisville Forward
Louisvillians hoping to find a fresh start, help with finances or a new career direction will find a wealth of opportunities at the “Be Empowered at the Nia” event on Thursday, May 10. The event is being held at the Nia Center, 2900 W. Broadway, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Resources and activities include free credit reports and one-on-one credit counseling, a career fair, workshops focusing on work readiness and small business resources, adult education services and GED information, financial education tools and products on the BB&T Bank Bus, and HIV testing. This event also features free food, door prizes and ample parking as well free bus tickets donated by TARC that will serve as some of the door prizes as well as distributed in advance to assist residents interested in attending the event.
Sponsored by BB&T, the “Be Empowered” event brings together partner agencies at the Nia Center including the Office of Financial Empowerment — part of Louisville Metro Office of Resilience and Community Services, Louisville Forward, KentuckianaWorks’ Kentucky Career Center, and TARC along with Apprisen, Bank on Louisville, Cardinal Success Program, Jefferson County Clerk’s Office, Job Corps, Keeping It Real Neighborhood Institute, Louisville Asset Building Coalition, Louisville Metro Human Relations Commission and My Chosen People.The Career Fair will be held at the Kentucky Career Center on the first floor between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. including more than fifteen employers from the public and private sectors. Job seekers are encouraged to bring a photo ID and copies of a resume or work history and come dressed to meet employers. Pre-register online at https://focuscareer.ky.gov/careerexplorer/home or arrive early to register and even print your resume. For assistance preparing a resume in advance, visit the Kentucky Career Center at the Nia Center, 2900 W. Broadway Suite 100, or at 600 West Cedar.
Participating employers at the Career Fair include:
- AC Hotels
- AFLAC
- Amazon
- Copart
- G4S
- Jefferson County Clerk Office
- Jefferson County Public Schools
- Job Corps
- Marriott
- Ollie’s Bargain Outlet
- Omni Hotel
- Pizza Hut
- Radial
- Republic Bank
- TARC
- Transcend Credit Un ion
- Trimen Solutions
- University of Louisville Human Resources
- S. Census Bureau
- Webster University
Also featured will be the BB&T Bank Bus between 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. a 40-foot mobile classroom providing credit report education, unclaimed property searches, self-file income tax preparation stations, as well as comprehensive financial services. BB&T personnel will also be available to help with checking and savings accounts and other financial services and provide access to computer-based Money Smart Financial Education.
Eleven free workshops will be offered throughout the day including:
- Expungement Process 10 a.m.
- Bankruptcy 11 a.m.
- Resume Writing 11 a.m.
- Credit as an Asset 11 a.m.
- Opioid Crisis and the Community 12 p.m.
- Educational Training Opportunities 1 p.m.
- Louisville Metro Certification 1 p.m.
- Interviewing Skills 1 p.m.
- Identity Theft 1 p.m.
- Income Tax Issues 2:p.m.
- Small Business Resources 2 p.m.
“The Financial Empowerment and Job Fair Day is a great example of how the Nia Center partners are working together to offer an array of workforce and entrepreneurial development resources for our community,” said Gena Redmon Harris, director of Louisville Metro Resilience and Community Services. “We want residents to walk away feeling empowered to strengthen their households and change their future.”
Participants at the May 10 event are encouraged to share their experiences and photos on social media using #NiaPower.
For more information, call 574-7303 or 574-5168, or download this event flyer.
Automotive frame manufacturer Metalsa Structural Products Inc. will add 113 jobs at its Owensboro facility with a $36.5 million expansion to produce a new line of stamped and welded components.
“With three production facilities in the commonwealth, Metalsa stands as one of our largest automotive employers,” Gov. Bevin said. “We are grateful for this additional expansion and these new jobs. This will strengthen Kentucky’s economy and further propel us toward our goal of being the American center of engineering and manufacturing excellence. We welcome this growth and congratulate both Metalsa and the Owensboro community on their success.”
The $36.5 million will include investment in robotic welding cells, assembly line robots, infrastructure and building expansions to increase the facility’s square footage to accommodate the new production line and additional warehouse space. The expansion began this summer and hiring is for September 2018 through June 2019. Company leaders expect production to begin in March 2019.
In Kentucky, Metalsa currently employs about 2,700 people at three vehicle-frame facilities. It established the Owensboro facility in 1997, opened its Hopkinsville plant in 1989 and its Elizabethtown plant dates to 1994.
Established in 1956 as Manufacturas Metálicas Monterrey with a plant in Churubusco, Mexico, the company initially produced structures for the construction industry then began manufacturing automotive parts four years later. The company changed its name to Metalsa in 1980. Current products include frames and fuel tanks for light and commercial vehicles, among other items.
Kentucky’s automotive industry — a key sector of the commonwealth’s economy — employs more than 100,000 people at 500-plus facilities across the state. This year through August, the industry announced a dozen new locations or expansions totaling $3.9 billion in investments. Those are expected to create more than 3,100 full-time jobs.
Kentucky’s ideal location as a gateway between the nation’s two auto-production hotbeds offers suppliers the opportunity to produce components in a low-cost, right-to-work state and ship their products quickly and cost-effectively to assembly plants in Kentucky and across the Midwest and South.
Sen. Joe Bowen, of Owensboro, said the announcement will benefit the region for years to come.
“It is a great day when a company that already employs so many Kentuckians chooses to expand its operations in our city,” he said. “I am pleased that Metalsa chose to increase its investment in its Owensboro facility and I thank them for their dedication to our community.”
Rep. Suzanne Miles, of Owensboro, commended Metalsa on its commitment to the region and thanked those involved with landing the project.
“I want to congratulate Metalsa Structural Products on their expansion and thank them for their continued investment in the 7th District,” Rep. Miles said. “This expansion will create jobs for the Owensboro area and bring continued economic development to our region. Metalsa Structural Products has long been a successful corporate and community partner for Owensboro, and I want to applaud all those who made this investment possible.”
Owensboro Mayor Tom Watson said the company’s growth reflects the pro-business climate of the community.
“The City of Owensboro is proud and honored to be the site of Metalsa’s expansion,” Mayor Watson said. “The company’s commitment to Owensboro is a testament to our positive business environment, a highly-skilled workforce and superb quality of life. We look forward to working with this fine corporate citizen for many years to come.”
Daviess County Judge-Executive Al Mattingly welcomed news of the expansion.
“On behalf of the fiscal court and the citizens of Daviess County, I congratulate Metalsa on their expansion,” Judge Mattingly said. “This project will create high-wage jobs, and illustrates the company’s confidence in our workforce and community.”
To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in June preliminarily approved Metalsa for tax incentives up to $3.5 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
In addition, Metalsa can receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network. Through the Kentucky Skills Network, companies can receive no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job training incentives. In fiscal year 2016, the Kentucky Skills Network provided training for nearly 95,000 Kentuckians and 5,000 companies from a variety of industry sectors.
For more information on Metalsa, visit www.metalsa.com.
A detailed community profile for Daviess County can be viewed at http://bit.ly/DaviessCoKy.
Information on Kentucky’s economic development efforts and programs is available at ThinkKentucky.com. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion on Facebook or follow on Twitter. Watch the Cabinet’s “This is My Kentucky” video on YouTube.
Meet your next employer in person at the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Transportation Job Fair! Come meet the transportation team, tour the facility, and learn about our great opportunities.
The job fair will be held on Wednesday, 9/20 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Location: CB Young Jr Building, 3001 Crittenden Drive, Louisville 40209
Applications will be accepted for bus driver positions and bus monitor positions.
As a member of the JCPS Transportation team, employees receive:
- $16.95/hr fulltime
- Paid training
- Current approved $2.50/hr pay differential for perfect attendance
- Full health insurance and retirement benefits
- PTO includes sick days, personal days and emergency pay.
- Advancement Opportunities
Interested applicants should have a good driving record and enjoy working with children, as well as:
• Must be at least 21 years old
• Must have a valid driver’s license
• Bring I-9 identification (birth certificate or social security card)
• Bring GED, high school diploma or college transcripts (official)
• Bring voided check for direct deposit
• $20 exact cash or check for background check
Interested individuals may fill out an online application at the job fair, or at:
applitrack.com/jefferson/onlineapp/
For more information, call 502-485-3800.
A $200 referral bonus will be paid to classified hourly employee (after full-time bus driver applicant has successfully completed 30 working days as a school bus driver).
Surrounded by young people who spent their summer working, Mayor Greg Fischer today declared the 2017 SummerWorks season a big success, with more than 5,200 youth ages 16-21 employed – breaking last year’s record total.
That number includes 800 youth employed by companies and organizations that directly teamed with the city and KentuckianaWorks to provide more extensive career training, led by a new SummerWorks partner, YouthBuild. Overall, a record 150 employers hired youth this summer.
“This year’s program was focused on creating deeper, more effective learning experiences for our youth participants, and YouthBuild did a phenomenal job in leading this effort,” the Mayor said. “Our 800 core placements received training to create résumés and prepare for job interviews, as well as coaching throughout the summer from YouthBuild staff or key private sector employer-partners. This effort helps us ensure that Louisville is a city of opportunity for all our young people.”
At a season-closing event at Kentucky Kingdom, two of those 800 young people shared their summer job experiences.
Munirah Sajjida, 17, said she has “loved my work” at the non-profit Plymouth Community Center. Munirah, who had been struggling with school attendance issues and other problems, also participates in the city’s ReImage program, designed to keep court-involved youth from getting into further trouble. She credited the SummerWorks program and ReImage with helping to get her life headed in a positive direction.
Jon Russell, who was hired back for a second summer as an assistant in human resources at Fourth Street Live! said his SummerWorks job “has given me skills that will be valuable to my dream of opening my own department store.”
Fourth Street Live! presented him with a scholarship, which he will use to attend the University of Kentucky. The company plans to award a scholarship yearly to a SummerWorks youth.
Mayor Fischer said such SummerWorks’ “employer champions” hired youth, ages 16-21, for jobs in hospitals, restaurants, groceries, banks and hotels. Working closely with supervisors and mentors, young people worked on manufacturing assembly lines and grocery check-out lanes, assisted companies with their IT and human resources needs, helped process insurance claims, worked in pharmacies and helped ship packages around the world.
Several of Louisville’s largest companies greatly increased their hiring, including GE Appliances, Ford, Humana and Kindred Healthcare.
Employers new to the program included 21st Century Parks, Coastal Cloud, Hilliard Lyons, Hyatt Hotel, McDonald’s local franchises, MedAssist, MSD, Speed Art Museum, University of Louisville and Workwell Industries.
A combination of public and private funding sponsored SummerWorks jobs at more than 85 non-profit organizations and city agencies, including Boys and Girls Clubs, Kentucky Shakespeare, the Food Literacy Project, Louisville Metro Police, Louisville Fire, EMS, Metro Parks, Family Health Centers, Americana Community Center and Louisville Grows.
Funding for those jobs included $600,000 that the Mayor and Metro Council placed in last year’s city budget, as well as $100,000 each from the James Graham Brown Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation and the family of businessman Paul Diaz.
This year, SummerWorks expanded its focus on creating job experiences that build entrepreneurial skills in young people. Small grants were provided to six partner organizations that helped youth learn to start their own business, learn computer coding, and gain invaluable on-the-job training in the medical field, building trades, and technology.
“We are thrilled to see this initiative grow and evolve in both the quantity of and quality of the job opportunities young people are able to experience,” said Michael Gritton, executive director of KentuckianaWorks, which operates the SummerWorks program.
Many of the companies joining SummerWorks this year were recruited by Greater Louisville Inc., the Metro Chamber of Commerce.
“GLI was pleased to partner with the Mayor’s SummerWorks Program and successfully recruit 30 new GLI investor companies and create 225 summer jobs for youth in our community,” said Kent Oyler, president & CEO of Greater Louisville Inc. “Hands-on experience in the workplace is critical for raising young persons’ expectations and building a quality workforce.”
The Mayor launched SummerWorks right after taking office in 2011, in response to the elimination of federal funding for summer jobs. That first year, 200 young people were placed in jobs. The program was recognized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2014 as one of the nation’s best summer jobs programs for young people.
SummerWorks continues to work closely with Jefferson County Public Schools to place students in jobs that match up with what they are learning in school, and jobs in the key business sectors the city is strategically growing, such as technology, healthcare and business services.
Other companies participating included the Belle of Louisville, GlowTouch Technologies, Harland Clarke, Louisville Urban League, Louisville Zoo, Norton Healthcare, Oxmoor Auto Group, Speedway, Thorntons and YMCA of Greater Louisville.
The Mayor urged employers to make plans now to hire or support summer jobs for 2018. More information is at https://www.summerworks.org/
Photo: Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation
Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation is seeking to fill open lifeguard positions at its four outdoor pools; Norton, Algonquin, Sun Valley and at Nelson Hornbeck Park in Fairdale.
In addition to current staff, the Metro Parks and Recreation aquatics division says there’s room for approximately 15 more lifeguards to be hired over the summer.
Metro Parks and Recreation lifeguards start out at $10 per hour. For more information or how to apply, visit here or call the Mary T. Meagher Aquatic Center at 502/897-9949.
Metro Parks and Recreation lifeguards must:
- Possess and maintain lifeguard certification, CPR and First Aid
- Able to observe swimmers for safety and sit for prolonged periods of time
- Ability to react quickly and calmly in emergency situations
- Able to exercise tact and diplomacy when interacting with the public
Lifeguards who do not meet those qualifications have the opportunity to attend a lifeguard training class from 4-9 p.m. at the Mary T. Meagher Aquatic Center from Monday, May 22nd to Friday May 26. The cost of the class is $200 – but that fee is waived if upon completion the candidate pledges to work for Metro Parks and Recreation during the 2017 summer outdoor pool season.
For more information on the Mary T. Meagher Aquatic Center, Metro Parks and Recreation’s outdoor pools and the city’s spraygrounds and playgrounds, please click here.
Photo: Care Innovations
Mayor Greg Fischer and Gov. Matt Bevin today announced Care Innovations LLC, a telehealth company specializing in designing, developing, and optimizing remote care delivery programs, will invest nearly $1.7 million to relocate and expand its research and development center, creating 24 high-wage jobs in Louisville.
“Louisville is seeing tremendous advancements in analytics, data science and technology within our lifelong wellness and aging cluster. Care Innovations’ expansion is a great example of how technology can innovate to meet the market’s advanced industry growth,” the Mayor said. “I welcome the company’s innovative solutions to bettering patient care, and look forward to its future success and growth.”
Care Innovations will relocate from its 1,900 square-foot Prospect office to a more than 7,000 square-foot space on Fourth Street in Louisville. The new office will provide additional room for software development, analytics and testing.
“Care Innovations located in Prospect less than 18 months ago, confident they would be able to tap into Louisville’s tech and healthcare industry expertise,” Gov. Bevin said. “That confidence was not misplaced, and Care Innovations is now moving to larger offices that will better accommodate their substantial and consistent growth. We congratulate them on their impressive efforts and look forward to their continued progress.”
The company, based in Roseville, Calif., opened its Prospect office in October 2015 to better reach its customers, build relationships with industry leaders and analysts and attract strong technology and healthcare talent.
“As we continue to partner with major healthcare systems and health plans both nationwide and internationally on their goal to provide continuous care, it is imperative that we expand our talent, and Louisville’s growing healthcare market is ideal for doing just that,” said Randall Swanson, CEO of Care Innovations.
Also known as RPM, remote patient management is a form of telehealth that uses information technology to gather patient data outside of traditional healthcare settings. By moving care into patients’ homes, clinicians can provide proactive care, rather than reactive, which may help reduce hospitalizations, improve outcomes and lower costs.
Care Innovations has been an advisor and leading provider in the remote patient management and telehealth industry for more than 10 years. The company partners with payers, healthcare providers and home health companies to make continuous care easier by employing its service suite, technology and education offerings to design, develop and deliver remote care. Doing so helps Care Innovations’ customers reduce costs and improve patient outcomes outside of traditional clinical settings.
To encourage the investment and job growth in the Louisville area, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in January preliminarily approved Care Innovations for tax incentives up to $500,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
For more information on Care Innovations, visit www.careinnovations.com.
Photo from ey.com
Ernst & Young LLP, one of the world’s largest business-services organizations, plans to open a 125-member office for executive assistants and other shared professional functions in downtown Louisville with a $4.35 million investment, Mayor Greg Fischer and Gov. Matt Bevin announced today.
“Today is an exciting day for Louisville as we welcome a major new division from EY. This latest location of executive support functions continues to solidify Louisville’s position as a market leader in the global business services sector,” said the Mayor. “Our future is bright thanks to companies like EY that recognize Louisville as a growing and dynamic city with an educated workforce. We are thrilled to welcome this newest EY location to Louisville and look forward to more opportunities to partner with this global industry leader in the future.”
The office will house members of the firm’s expanding National Executive Assistance Team, which supports EY partners across the country, as well as creative and digital services employees. The firm hasn’t yet signed a lease but intends to locate in Louisville’s Central Business District, hiring its full complement by mid-2018. The firm operates similar centers in Dallas, Cleveland and Tucson.
“We are delighted to welcome EY’s professional service center to Kentucky and we are grateful for their investment,” said Gov. Bevin. “Kentucky is quickly becoming the destination of choice for corporate and shared-service centers, thanks to our skilled professional workforce, high quality of life and low business operating costs. We are confident that EY’s Louisville-based, executive support team will be able to effectively serve their executives across the United States.”
“We were very impressed with the level of talent in Louisville and commend efforts by the city, state and local learning institutions to grow the talent base even more aggressively and in new areas,” said Brent Summers, EY’s Americas enterprise support services leader. “That, along with Louisville’s affordability and quality of life, were important factors in our location decision. We are also excited to be locating our new center in the downtown area. There is so much new development and energy. We think it will be a great environment for our new team.”
The firm traces its roots to the early 1900s with the founding of two accounting firms; Ernst & Ernst in Cleveland, and Arthur Young & Co. in Chicago. Their 1989 merger created Ernst & Young, which then became Ernst & Young LLP.
David Calzi, managing partner of the existing Louisville office of Ernst & Young LLP, said the city will make a great home for the new support center.
“The firm has been a proud citizen of Louisville and Kentuckiana since we opened our local practice in 1923. We couldn’t be more pleased that our leadership recognized the desirable facets of our community, and decided to expand our presence here when it had so many other cities to choose from,” Calzi said.
The firm is a member firm of the global EY organization whose members provide assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services to many of the world’s largest companies. They operate in 152 countries, including 30 countries in the Americas, and employ 231,000 people globally.
“EY is just the kind of company our region is working to attract, and we’re excited to have them choose Louisville. They are making a significant investment in our community and creating quality jobs, and they have a reputation for being good corporate citizens. It is our honor to welcome this new division of EY to Greater Louisville,” Deana Epperly Karem, Greater Louisville Inc.’s VP for Regional Growth, said.
To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority in February preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $1 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
For more information on EY, visit www.ey.com.
