Partnership to Pathway
When Mike’s night shift ends at sunrise, his day is just getting started. From Lineage in Othello, he heads straight to the classroom to finish his high school diploma. This overlap of work and education is the result of a community network designed to remove the friction of navigating a new town.
When Mike moved to Othello from Arizona he was unemployed and without a diploma. The path forward was a blur. The support systems were unfamiliar. But rather than facing a series of disconnected offices and dead ends, a single connection at the SkillSource Learning Center in Othello triggered a chain reaction of opportunity.
While Mike focused on his GED through the Othello Open Doors Youth Reengagement program, he was also actively gaining valuable work experience at the Othello Food Bank. This 160-hour work experience placement allowed Mike to learn the rhythm of a team and support local food distribution. His dedication at the Othello Food Bank even earned him a letter of recommendation, and he continues to volunteer his time there.
That preparation led to a hiring event at the WorkSource center in Moses Lake. Lineage is a public warehouse facility that works with SkillSource to find and train the talent they need. A hiring event is one way SkillSource helps to bridge that gap between employment needs and the right candidate. When Mike arrived at the hiring event in WorkSource Central Basin in Moses Lake, he met with the Lineage team, shook hands, and applied for a position at the Lineage facility in Othello. Mike also went on to achieve his forklift certification through his new employer.
“I am happy,” says Mike. “I came to SkillSource and everything just started to happen,” Mike says. And I’m not done with my journey yet. I still have a lot to accomplish.”
They say luck is when preparedness meets opportunity. Partners prepare every day to meet people where they are, people who are navigating their next best step. It’s that preparation that leads to opportunities like work experiences, where an employer gains a contributing temporary employee, and the employee gains valuable skills and connections to what’s next. And it’s through Mike’s own hard work and preparation that when he walked through one open door, it set off a chain reaction that opened up another, and another. It led to new skills gained, a quality job, and forward momentum.
Congratulations to Mike and Lineage.
