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Karen Organization of Minnesota Attachment E City of Roseville ARPA Grant Application Application Submitted: 2/17/2023 KOM has been fortunate to increase our annual budget and reserves over the past three years due to increased grants for COVID-19 relief in 2020 and contracts for employment and youth services. However, after a surge in 2020-2021, KOM saw individual gifts and grant funding drop by 19% in 2022 compared with the previous year. We are concerned that COVID no longer feels urgent to most donors, but the effects are still evident in the communities we serve. KOM also had much higher than average staff turnover in 2021 and 2022. Most staff who resigned cited burnout from working through the pandemic and/or challenges with childcare as the primary factors for them to leave. We have successfully filled all open positions, but the level of employee turnover, combined with funding gaps for workforce development programs, caused significant disruption to our programs over the past two years. Lastly, changes in the labor market have required us to overhaul some of our employment training programs to better meet employer needs and participant interests. Coming out of the pandemic, many people are seeking jobs with higher wages to meet the rise in living costs and more flexible scheduling to accommodate their families. KOM created the Transportation and Logistics training in 2022 to meet these participant interests as well as a heightened demand from employers for workers with these skills. Please indicate the amount of funds being requested (maximum of $10,000) and how you would use funds awarded under this program KOM has developed cross-sector training for 6 Career Training Pathway programs (Healthcare, Construction, Interpreting, Transportation Logistics, and Manufacturing) and a youth career exploration program (for youth 14-24 years old) What’s Next in partnership with RALC. KOM has been able to build in financial literacy and 1:1 financial coaching by partnering with LISC and stipends for training participants who are East Saint Paul residents by joining the East Side Employment xChange. Due to the xChange’s geographic focus, we have targeted most of our recruitment thus far to the East Side of St. Paul. We would like to use this grant to expand our outreach to participants and employers in Roseville. KOM has received huge interest from the Karen community to enter careers as Forklift and CDL drivers due to the higher wages and job security these roles have in manufacturing and warehouse settings. With most of KOM’s clients currently working in the manufacturing sector, KOM collaborated with RALC, Saint Paul College, and Stillwater Adult Basic Education to develop the Transportation and Warehouse Logistics training program to help immigrants and refugees gain the skills and credentials (Forklift certification, CDL permit, and CDL Behind the Wheel instruction) to advance in manufacturing and warehouse careers or transition into driving jobs. Community training sites such as CareerForce, Ramsey County’s Workforce Training Dashboard, social media, and word of mouth from participants have been KOM’s main outreach strategies. Our recruitment and enrollment process allows participants to meet with KOM’s Careers Pathways Training Coordinator and Employment Outreach Specialist one on one to discuss program eligibility, additional supports participants need to succeed, and ensure KOM’s training supports the goals of the participant. Interested participants who are looking for careers outside of Forklift and CDL drivers will be referred to our other programs (Move Up in Manufacturing or What’s Next) or training agencies aligning with their career goals. KOM would also like to grow its employer network to include more Roseville employers, connecting them to our training program graduates and pool of job seekers.