Power-One
Arizona - Power-One
Workforce Success Story Submitted By: Phoenix Workforce Connection
Workforce Challenge
While the city of Phoenix, the Arizona Department of Commerce and Greater Phoenix Economic Council worked diligently to lure renewable energy companies to Phoenix at the peak of the recession, the workforce system was already lining up to meet their hiring needs. The recession necessitated the emergence of community organizations to serve the growing masses of laid-off workers and Phoenix Workforce Connection (PWC) became a strong partner in delivering needed information and services.
Workforce Solution
One of the most powerful success stories is that of Power-One. As economic development entities worked on attracting Power-One to Phoenix, a well-networked laid off worker attending the jobseeker events landed a job as their HR Director, becoming their first hire in Phoenix, and confirming that they had chosen Phoenix as their home. Having spent several months on the jobseeker circuit, Jennifer Swenson, Power-One’s new HR Director, had attended Career Connector events where Jessica Pierce brought resources for thousands of unemployed workers, including presentations by Mary Wolf-Francis, Business Liaison for the PWC. Career Connectors is an all-volunteer organization spearheaded by Ms. Pierce that now holds six monthly events across the valley.
Outcomes & Benefits
Recognizing the value of PWC’s resources and the network built at Career Connectors, Ms. Swenson reached out to both organizations to meet Power-One’s hiring needs. She made a commitment to hire locally and start with recruiting from the growing swell of laid-off workers giving both PWC customers and Career Connector members a first shot at the hundreds of job openings. Phoenix Workforce Connection is proud to say that we are serving our community by leveraging resources and showing our workforce the road to recovery.
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