LOUISVILLE’S PREMIER “CAREER EXPO” READY TO MEET NEEDS

Louisville, KY – Employers and job seekers have the opportunity to connect at the Louisville Urban League’s 20^th annual “Louisville Career Expo.”  The event, which traditionally attracts thousands of job seekers and 75 exhibitors, is scheduled on Wednesday, March 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Kentucky International Convention Center.  

Traditionally one of the largest events of its kind, admission to the Louisville Career Expo is free to the public and targets adults who are 18 years of age or older.  The event offers companies and employers the opportunity to: 1) meet face-to-face with large numbers of qualified job applicants; 2) diversify their workforce; and 3) build relationships to further promote their company’s objectives and mission. Expo exhibitors also include colleges and training providers to connect individuals to higher education and skills certification programs for career advancement.

LOUISVILLE URBAN LEAGUE IS ASKING EVERYONE TO “TURN UP FOR EDUCATION!”

The Louisville Urban League, longtime advocate and leader in youth development and education, presents the 2014 Education Summit on Saturday, March 1st at Central High School Magnet Career Academy, 1130 West Chestnut Street from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  The theme this year is “Turn Up for Education!”  The Summit will be a fun, festive energetic “pep rally” atmosphere equipped with performances by Central High School’s drum line and cheerleaders.  David Johns, Executive Director of White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans has been invited to be keynote speaker.

Attendees are encouraged to dress to represent their school, college, church, sorority or fraternity.

The Louisville Urban League presented the inaugural class of the Urban Leadership Alliance Seminar (ULAS) at its Annual Report Luncheon on December 6, 2013.  The Urban Leadership Alliance Seminar (ULAS) is specifically designed as a vehicle through which African American men exhibiting high potential as future leaders are coached, educated and prepared for higher levels of leadership and responsibility within their respective companies.

Through ULAS participants accelerate their career paths ultimately increasing the number of African American men in upper level positions within the Louisville community. Launched as a pilot in March 2013, ULAS is a 9 month seminar with each session divided into three core areas: Self-awareness, Leadership Skill Development and Tactical Skill Application. Under a contract with the Louisville Urban League, ULAS is powered by SOAR a subsidiary of the PEER Exchange Network, LLC.

The inaugural class consisted of 15 participants representing 11 Louisville-based companies.

- New Employment Initiative Focuses on Improverished Areas -

The Louisville Urban League (LUL) honored the first graduates of a new, innovative, workforce development initiative called, ICANBE (Individual Career Advancement Now! Be Empowered) on June 13, 2013.  ICANBE is a pilot program designed to raise employment levels and increase economic stability in the most impoverished neighborhoods in Louisville and prepare residents for available jobs with local employers.  UPS serves as the lead partner.  Other partner companies will be announced as they are confirmed. 

The most impoverished neighborhoods in the Louisville Metro area are within the 40203, 40210, 40211 and 40212 zip codes.  In addition to high poverty rates, neighborhoods in these zip codes have high crime rates, lower educational attainment levels, and higher unemployment and under employment than other areas in the community.  Employment data for these four zip codes show that 22.8% (7,128 persons) of the residents in the labor force are unemployed.  At the same time, there are hundreds of job openings in the logistics industry locally and many more when you include other industries such as retail.  For this reason, the Louisville Urban League created the ICANBE program to primarily target these four zip codes to outreach, recruit, screen, and train a large number of residents for available jobs.