After he submitted unanswered job applications for two years, New Haven Works helped open a door to a new job for Osikhena Awudu. On Wednesday he helped open a door for the new “jobs pipeline” agency itself.
Awudu (pictured), who’s 34, was a featured speaker at a grand opening ceremony Wednesday afternoon at 205 Whitney Ave., the headquarters of New Haven Works.
The opening of the new not-for-profit agency is the culmination of an effort by the Board of Aldermen, the city, unions, and local employers.
New Haven Works is designed to connect New Haveners seeking work with local employers looking to hire. The organization will help employers find good recruits, and help job seekers be prepared to put their best foot forward.
New Haven Works’ ground-floor offices were packed for the event Wednesday afternoon. Dozens gathered to listen to local and state elected officials — including Gov. Dannel Malloy — salute the new organization. They also heard from three former job-seekers who have found work with the help of New Haven Works.
Awudu said he sent “countless applications” looking for work in New Haven, including applying to Yale “many times.” After connecting with New Haven Works, he sat down with a human resources specialist at Yale.
“I got feedback for the first time ever about what I was doing wrong,” Awudu said. He learned he’d been applying to jobs that he wasn’t fully qualified for.
He also got the face time he needed to make a personal impression. Awudu said Yale receives “such a volume” of applications that it uses a computerized filter to weed out many of them. Sitting down with an actual person helped Awudu bypass that filter. Yale Law School hired him as a senior administrative assistant three weeks ago.
Also three weeks ago, Josue Rodriguez (pictured), another New Haven Works participant, started a temp job with Yale’s information technology department. Angela Moore landed a part-time job at Yale’s Office of International Affairs and last week interviewed for a full-time spot.
Awudu, Rodriguez, and Moore are three of about 40 people New Haven Works has helped place in jobs during a pilot program with Yale and the city, said Mary Reynolds, who runs the new agency. Wednesday’s ceremony means the organization is officially launching and will work with more employers, including Yale-New Haven Hospital and UIL Holdings, United Illuminating’s parent company.
Board of Aldermen President Jorge Perez (pictured) was the first to speak at Wednesday’s event, thanking everyone involved.
“We’re a Connecticut city,” said Mayor John DeStefano (pictured), who’s on the New Haven Works board. Connecticut cities are different from surrounding towns, he said. “We’re not just for some people; we’re for everybody.” Work is essential for dignity and for providing better future for one’s kids, he said.
State Attorney General George Jepson spoke of his experience as legal counsel for a carpenters union. He said he saw the transformative power of job training, not just for a person but for a community.
Anthony Rescigno, head of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, said New Haven Works will be good for employers. Job applicants will be “screened, checked, and vetted,” giving them “instant credibility” with employers, he said.
Peter Salovey, Yale’s president-in-waiting, spoke about the importance of aligning town and gown interests, to benefit everybody.
Gov. Malloy hailed New Haven Works as a way to “share economic opportunity with the people who built this city.”
Then he helped cut a ceremonial ribbon with an enormous pair of scissors.
