DES MOINES, Iowa — A new program at Oakridge Neighborhood aims to help its residents gain job readiness and retention skills.
The Workplace Skills Training 101 program is geared towards the residents who are immigrants and have limited or no work experience.
The training goes over topics such as: Workplace safety, employee rights and responsibilities in the workplace, workplace terminology, handling workplace conflicts, how to request leave time, how to report incidents and work-related issues and tips on how to improve work performance, retention and advancement.
"Helping them learn about the different topics, will help them learn about American workplace culture," Almardi Abdalla, director of family and workforce programs at Oakridge Neighborhood, said.
Abdalla helps instruct the program. The class is a little over a week-long and has eight participants signed up.
"The main goal of this … is to facilitate our client's journey to self-sufficiency and financial independence," Abdalla said.
The students in the class speak three different languages. Arabic, Swahili and Tigrinya.
There are also two other instructors in the class along with Almardi, and they help translate from English to some of the student's native languages.
Another goal of the class is to help the students retain a job once they get one.
"We see people like getting a job here and there but then they leave, or they get fired because they don't understand that there [are] policies in place," Abdalla said. "You can't just not show up to work, you have to call and let your boss know what is going on."
One person who said the class is helpful was Seida Umer.
Her interpreter Basam Hagos, told Local 5 Umer said she liked the class because "mostly I learn about the policies, workplace policies and laws I didn't know about."
The class ends Thursday, March 18. Another one is scheduled to start before the end of the month with a new set of students. They are open to the public.