Summit Academy trains low-income students for living-wage jobs

A 2012 Wilder Foundation research report forecast that 900,000-plus jobs will be need to be filled in the Twin Cities over the next 10 years. The Minnesota Demographic Center also points out that a five percent labor force growth is expected to occur annually through 2045.
Summit Academy OIC (SAOIC) officials say they are training students to help meet the regionâs labor needs. âWe built a system that is preparing for the future. The real story here is that we built an institution and a pipeline of people who will be positioned to take advantage of this demographic shift,â proclaimed SAOIC President Louis King of the school, located just outside downtown Minneapolis on the cityâs north side.
King said SAOIC can meet the areaâs âemployment goal that is shifting now to âlabor force replacementâ because the current work force is aging out.â In the last two fiscal years, the school has had a 95 percent overall graduate-placement ratio â a 75 percent average placement rate in construction-related jobs, and 70 percent in health care.
âIf we place 100 people, 70 of them must be in industry-related jobs,â explained King.
Career Services Manager Felicia Clomon added that SAOIC uses a âretention cycleâ reporting on a three months, six months, and one-year basis. âOur overall retention rate in fiscal year [20]15 was 63.5 percent,â she pointed out â 301 students were placed in jobs in 2014.
SAOICâs 20-week training, which is accredited by the Atlanta-based Commission of the Council on Occupational Education, is divided in two 10-week phases, the first classroom work and the second hands-on instruction. The â100 Hard Hatsâ construction program consists of core and specialties courses such as pre-apprentice carpentry, electrician, heavy equipment and welding. The healthcare programs include community health worker, pharmacy technician, and a certified nursing assistant option.
âThere is no cost to the student,â said Strategic Development Director George Garnett of the SAOICâs $5,400 tuition and fees. There is federal and state financial aid available along with other grants. âWe [have] raised upwards of about $2 million now in philanthropic support. We donât believe in sticking students with any debt.â
âAll we ask for from students who attend here is that they need to be here and be committed to being here,â said Garnett. âThey know that if they are not showing up here at Summit Academy, they are not going to get a job.â
âIt is very intensive,â Garnett continued. âIt is a highly demanding, rigorous and aggressive training program. Our theory is if you can get people in quickly so they can start to earn, thatâs better than taking a year or longer and end up taking on debt.â
There are âsupportive measuresâ to help students as well, such as regular brown-bag-lunch sessions for female students and graduates, mentoring sessions, and its âFreedom to Succeedâ program, added Clomon, for âanyone who has been in jail or has gaps in their rĂ©sumĂ©s. We meet with them once a week to talk about any insecuritiesâŠand how they are going to be able to attain employment after [training] and really building their confidence so that they are ready at week 20.
âWe also do work-readiness evaluations on week two with each student. We [also] build âindividual barrier reductionâ plans with each student,â noted Clomon.
King pointed out that many SAOIC students arenât considered or seen as traditional students: âThe people who come here have such overwhelming pressure â theyâre poor. Families, housing, money, health, transportation, abuse relationships, trifle friendsâŠwe canât do anything about that. All we can do every day is give them a little hope,â he said.
Garnett said that SAOICâs marketing efforts, which include television and radio spots along with historical âword-of-mouth,â have proven successful. âOur whole approach to marketing is to make sure that the community â through cable TV and newspapers and radio â that people are hearing it a lot,â he said.
Clomon cited starting hourly wages for SAOIC graduates as $15.67 in construction and $12.98 in health care.
âYou are going to find the majority of our placements are people of color,â said King on the schoolâs partnerships with 229 local employers. âEight years ago we were begging employers â now thatâs not the case,â he noted. âNow they need us. They didnât need us before.â
Asked what separates Summit Academy from other such local schools, King replied, âThey [the students] get a clear sense that we actually care. They are not just numbers or just students. They are part of a family here. We have standards and values, but we care about every individual to support themselves and their community, and to maximize their ability to function in society.â
âWe are here to support them through it all,â said Clomon.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.
Charles Hallman is a contributing reporter and award-winning sports columnist at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.