Erika Scott is a 23 year old single mother who grew up in the Austin area. Erika was referred to Business and Career Services, Inc. by her mother Lucy, who has been involved with other organizations like the Young Manufacturing Association and strongly supports involvement in the manufacturing industry. Erika had completed several internships while in high school and started working shortly after graduating. However, those jobs did not seem to be taking her anywhere and she felt as though there was no advancement. After Erika had her son, her responsibilities increased as she had to provide for her baby and herself. This made her realize she not only needed a job, but a career.

When Erika was referred to the MCIP program she immediately said, “I need to get a stable job, so I’m in”. We explained the different career pathways in manufacturing and the leadership development component, which makes this program unique. Even when several people tried to make her second guess pursuing the Welding track, because it was “Dirty Work”, Erika asked all the necessary questions and kept saying” Why not?”. 

Erika was facing many obstacles, which kept getting in the way to a successful job. She did not have reliable transportation, lack of stable childcare, poor reading and math skills, and lives in a high poverty area, which has limited resources. She also lacked interviewing and work readiness skills which prevented her from going past the initial interview screening.

When Erika started boot camp, she was extremely shy and did not want to participate in group discussions or leaded reading. As the days went by, she began to feel more comfortable and understood that everyone in the room had much in common, and it was ok to ask questions and make mistakes. After all, everyone in the boot camp is facing some type of barrier and one of the purposes is to polish and deliver interpersonal skills, which are essential in any workplace. During the 4 weeks, Erika went through the “A Game” curriculum, which promotes the importance of attendance, attitude, appearance, ambition, acceptance, appreciation and accountability.  Erika was always encouraged to ask questions during the employer “lunch and learn”. We asked everybody to look at it as if they were interviewing the employers. Erika was able to manage her fear of public speaking and when she toured different local manufacturers, she always asked questions, which helped her stand out with the employers.

Towards the end of Boot Camp, Erika made her final decision about the career pathway she wanted to pursue, which was the Welding Track. Erika learned how to perform labor market research during boot camp. With this, she not only identified the career path, but was able to choose a specific job she wanted to pursue in the next 5 years and the company where she wanted to work. Everyone was able to see Erika’s ambition by the end of the boot camp; hence she was chosen to complete a paid work experience at the employer that she had picked.

Erika was placed at The Metraflex Company and was working 3 days a week while attending Welding Classes at Daley College. The employer had great feedback during her evaluations and we even heard back from the company’s president saying she was a “promising intern”. Erika kept learning and improving during her internship, that by the end of it she was offered a full-time position. Erika then started an “On the Job” training program at Metraflex. She was also given time to complete the Welding Classes, as they have planned to give her the opportunity to weld in the near future. 

Erika is now looking into additional training options to acquire specific Welding Certificates, which she can use at her current worksite.