Individual Achievement Award: 2020
Individual Achievement Award winners are chosen by the local workforce innovations board. One winner from each local workforce innovations area will be honored at the award ceremony. The award recognizes the accomplishment of a job seeker customer who received assistance from WIOA and at least one additional core partner to achieve new career goals during the past program year. Click on the article titles listed below to learn more about our award winners.
LWA 3: Savhanna
In December 2020, the Illinois Workforce Partnership presented Savhanna, from Local Workforce Area 3, with an Individual Achievement Award.
LWA 5: Mario
Mario has a disability that presents challenges for him to learn and retain information. Mario cannot drive and relies on his parents and public transportation. Mario struggles with communicating his needs at times and becomes easily overwhelmed and sometimes reacts using inappropriate coping techniques. Despite these barriers, Mario was able to accomplish his employment goal through his participation in the Project SEARCH program administered in partnership with Parents Alliance Employment Project (PAEP) at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital and funded through the LWIA 5’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
LWA 10: Thomas
Thomas participated in the WIOA Connect to Your Future (CYF) youth program at Workforce Services of Will County. This program offers both high school completion classes and assistance with occupational training and employment. Thomas was able to avail himself of both parts of the program in order to fulfill his career goals.
LWA 19: Jeannette
“I started my journey with Workforce when I went to orientation. I had very little information about their assistance, but an RN I worked with recommended them. I took the TABE test, and scored low in the math section. I was directed to Project Read at the library. I loved the ladies at project read, they helped me excel,” Jeanette explains.
LWA 23: David
David is a 40‐year‐old married man—father of two daughters ages 12 and 10, and a son age 8. David had worked odd jobs over the last 10 years, earning minimum wage and only working part‐time. David had been unemployed at the time of application, on food stamps and had little to no money coming in to pay the bills. David had always wanted to go to school, but could not afford it.
LWA 26: Sandy
After 21 years with SECO, Sandy found herself unemployed due to plant closure in 2017. Sandy discovered she was eligible for WIOA workforce services and decided that she no longer wanted to work in a factory setting with looming long-term layoffs always a possibility.