Success Story: Rohrs sees success through WorkSmart Network!

Bobbi was laid off in 2013 as a teacher at Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools as a result of budgetary cuts. She connected to WorkSmart to explore education opportunities.
Information technology image for WorkSmart Network

information_technologyBobbi Rohrs, age 30 from Middleton, Wisconsin was laid off in 2013 as a teacher at Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools as a result of budgetary cuts. Her husband, who was also a teacher, was laid off on the same day.

With limited funding available to her at that time from similar programs in the Wisconsin Rapids area, Bobbi was connected to the Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin its dislocated worker program through the WorkSmart Network in February 2015. The referral stemmed from a meeting with the Information Technology TAACCCT Advisor at Madison College as she planned to pursue the Information Technology (IT)-Help Desk Support SpecialistProgram.

At her initial meeting, Bobbi and her WorkSmart Network Training Navigator discussed opportunities for employment and training in the information technology sector—a growing industry in the region—to help Bobbi move in a positive direction.

While enrolled as student at Madison College, Bobbi was offered a paid summer internship with the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections as a Staff Development Program Specialist making $15.79 per hour. She would be responsible for the development and delivery of training including curriculum writing, Evidence-Based Practice training, skill based trainings, and Staff Development Training Academies. She feels the internship is a great fit, given her previous skills and experience, and will offer her the opportunity to incorporate the new information technology skills and knowledge she’s obtained from her training.

Bobbi will begin her internship in summer 2015 and will continue her IT-Help Desk Support Specialist classes with support from the WorkSmart Network’s dislocated worker program and from Madison College. Bobbi is expected to finish her IT program training in December 2015. She adds that the programs and staff have truly helped her through her dislocation. “The WorkSmart Network and Madison College staff have been invaluable to me as a continuing student. They helped me find job opportunities that I was not aware of. Through their knowledge of these opportunities, I applied and was selected for a summer internship. I cannot recommend the resources available to students enough, but their staff is even better! They have been there each step of the way for me as I go through the process of changing careers.”

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