Successful job training isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula where clients spend hours on end siting in a classroom. Instead, it has to be individualized and hands-on.

Individualized training means identifying and addressing the barriers that prevent an individual from finding and holding a job. For some, it’s a lack of formal education like a high school diploma. For others it’s family problems that make it hard to hold a job. Or, substance abuse that prevents them from being employable. A criminal background is a huge barrier for some individuals and requires special tactics to find the right employer. Klamath Works isolates the specific barriers that keep each client from building a career, then works to tear those barriers down.

Job training also needs to be hands-on. Klamath Works keeps classroom time short so that participants can spend the rest of the day reinforcing their lessons through interactive, educational experiences. Participant teams travel to local job sites where they observe and participate in many different types of work, seeing what employers demand and how successful employees meet those demands. This field work and job shadowing gives participants an opportunity to ask questions, broaden perspectives and build confidence in their own ability to function in the workplace.