Local agency SELF — Supports to Encourage Low-income Families — and its new employment and education program, called JOBS NOW!, is helping low-income residents find a job or acquire better paying work.

SELF is partnering with the Vora Group and Ascendum, a global information technology solutions firm, to bring in private sector experts to teach this six-week workshop, said SELF spokesperson Beth Race.

“Topics include workplace communication, work appropriate attire, time management practices and personal finance,” Race said. “Ascendum will also teach technology topics including Microsoft applications training, job search engines, e-mail etiquette and social media. This is combined with six weeks of weekly one-on-one job coaching and enhanced incentives that will help SELF clients get jobs, keep jobs and build assets for self-sufficiency.”

“We’re excited to partner with SELF to connect trained employees with companies who are looking for a skilled workforce,” said Mahendra Vora, CEO of Ascendum and managing director of the Vora Group of companies.

“This program helps employers who can’t fill open slots and allows SELF clients get back to work to support their families and become more self-sufficient,” Vora said. “It’s a true win-win for the entire community.”

“In this still difficult economy, our goal is to get our clients in jobs that will support their families, so that they can escape poverty permanently,” explained SELF Executive Director Jeffrey Diver. “We’ve gone through many bold changes, so we can get more people back to work more quickly. ”

Hamilton resident Vivian Lee Collaso is enrolled in the JOBS NOW! course offered by SELF.

For the past nine years, Collaso had been living in New Jersey with her mother and sister, but when her sister decided the cost of living was too high there, she decided to move back home, and brought the mother with her.

Collaso, who was born in Hamilton but has lived much of her adult life in New Jersey where her father is from, tried it on her own for a while, but ended up putting everything in storage and was living in a hotel. Even though she was making pretty good money as a pediatric nurse, she just couldn’t manage the expenses, so she followed her mother and sister to Hamilton earlier this year.

Unfortunately, her nursing license isn’t transferable, so she struggled to find work while she gets her credentials in order to begin nursing again.

“My sister started getting on my case,” she said. “We get along and we support each other, and things are okay at home, but they would be much better if I were working.”

She has until May 13 to get her nursing license transferred to Ohio, but she has to take 11 different courses to do it.

“I can’t afford to test out,” she said, “and I need $125 to get fingerprinted. But if I can get some sort of a job in the meantime, I’ll be okay.”

A visit to Work Force One to find some stop-gap employment led her to JOBS NOW!

“Since I took this class, I have hope,” Collaso said. “When you lose your job, you lose your identity.

“I don’t mean to be melodramatic, but it’s a vicious cycle,” she said, “even if you have skills.”

“When clients complete the six-week workshop series, they will then start one-on-one job coaching with a support specialist who will make connections to other social services and provide job search services, additional education trainings and interview clothing,” Rush said. “Once clients complete the full 12-week program, they will be eligible to receive a laptop computer to continue their job search or complete work at home.”

The pilot session of JOBS NOW! just ended, and a new session will begin in January.

For more information, call 513-868-9300.