Edison, NJ – Edison Job Corps Academy held another successful Community Relations Luncheon this Tuesday.  The luncheon is held every quarter at the academy and is catered by the Culinary Arts students who have an opportunity to showcase their skills.  The purpose of the event is to educate local and distant community members about the program, but also to give everyone an opportunity to share information about their products and services. It is a great forum to network and it attracts employers, high schools, colleges, township representatives, non-profits, media, state and federal agencies and many others. The event allows all attendees to learn about the benefits of the Job Corps program, which is a residential, academic and vocational training program for young adults ages 16-24 available at 122 locations throughout United States, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Guests always seem to be amazed by the comprehensive offerings of the Job Corps. The program offers an array of employability skills, 3rd party industry recognized certifications, work based learning opportunities and first class counseling and career service, all at no cost to qualified students.  Edison Job Corps Academy, located on 26 acres serves 530 students within and outside of the state of New Jersey. 

Each meeting starts with the management overview of Job Corps offerings to allow first time visitors to understand the advantages of this life changing program. All enjoy hearing about new initiatives and activities. At this meeting the audience enjoyed watching photos from recent community service activities in which students participated such as:
handing out CFL bulbs as part of the Project Porchlight, volunteering at the Dodge Arts Festival to “green” the event, cleaning up the beach at the Waterfront Park in Old Bridge and packing food for the needy at the North Brunswick Feed the Children Warehouse just to name a few.

The November 9th meeting gathered approximately 80 visitors who had an opportunity to learn about services offered through Jewish Family & Vocational Services as well as the READ Foundation, who were both guest speakers. BSM (Business Success Management), an Edison based Certified Minority & Women Owned Business Enterprise and South Plainfield Valvoline Instant Oil Change Store were recognized with the Community Star Award. Both companies serve on the academy’s Industry Advisory Council and provide internships, full time positions, mentoring and other services

To foster networking, attendees were encourages to bring information about their organizations and place them on “resource tables” which were filled with flyers, job openings, volunteer service opportunities and marketing materials. This strategy ultimately allows all to get the word out about their business and disseminate information in a more effective way.

The meeting ended with a scrumptious lunch which consisted of a sweet corn and sweet peas rice pilaf, Hawaiian style chicken with pineapples and teriyaki glaze; garlic parmesan roasted red bliss potatoes, sautéed asparagus with roasted red peppers, teriyaki salmon and roasted pork tenderloin. For dessert guest enjoyed a selection of coffee, assorted beverages and individual servings of bread pudding; freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and mouth watering caramel fudge brownies. As always, some guests toured the campus to learn more about the academy to learn more about how Job Corps can support their companies. Businesses and organizations interested to participate in the next luncheon can contact, Monika Pankiewicz, Business and Community Liaison for more information at pankiewicz.monika@jobcorps.org or at 732 777 7419.