Take advantage of high-quality jobs & River Region career opportunities

Published 12:03 am Wednesday, August 8, 2018

The collaborative River Region effort created in May of 2017 includes St. John the Baptist, St. Charles and St. James parishes and is focused on increasing awareness of the wide array of quality jobs and sustainable careers in the region — specifically, those jobs/careers that require some education beyond high school but not a four-year college degree.

This campaign is being led by the River Region Chamber of Commerce with support from Louisiana Calling, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring Louisiana residents to find paths to educational and career success.

The campaign began with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing support for this effort by key government and education stakeholders including the parish presidents and school system superintendents from all three parishes, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, the River Parishes Community College, and the Workforce Development Board – River Region Consortium. 

“I first want to thank those contributors to this important effort. The MOU set the frame work to develop our localized ‘ground game’ within the River Region,” RRCC Workforce Development Chair Mike Palamone said.

“Our efforts will focus on highlighting those real, available career/jobs in the River Region by our local employers and where to get training locally. Those careers could be in Industry (Skilled workforce), Technicians, Healthcare, etc. This campaign will showcase River Region individuals who attended technical school, training organizations or others and obtained training and credentials whom are now leading productive lives and lifestyles. These are the individuals who ‘ROSE TO THE CALLING.’ They are our relatives, friends and neighbors. This program not only addresses our future workforce but also our unemployed and under employed.”

In March, Louisiana Calling administered a high school students survey designed to provide a baseline measure of high school student perceptions relevant to post-high school educational opportunities and career options.

A total of 2,726 students from East St. John High School, West St. John High School, Destrehan High School, Lutcher High School, Hahnville High School and St. James High School participated in the survey.

Information gleaned from the survey will help Louisiana Calling customize the design of the River Region messaging campaign to best suit the needs of the region.

Rudy Gomez, project director for River Region Campaign, describes the current status of this effort, “We are now starting to develop and produce the campaign content that will be distributed through traditional and new/social media. We are also meeting with significant employers in the region to gain their support for and participation in the campaign.”

We want to extend a special thanks to the following partners for their contributions to help get the ground game started: Cox, Reserve Telecommunications, Shell Chemical (Convent / Norco Refineries) and Performance Contractors.

We look forward to announcing a few others soon.

According to the Louisiana Workforce Commission, Louisiana has unprecedented demand for skilled workers throughout the state, and these positions often require training or education beyond a high school diploma … but not a four-year college degree.

Louisiana Calling is a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring all Louisiana residents to find the educational and career paths that best lead them to the life they hope for and the career success they want. Louisiana Calling’s multiyear public messaging campaign is designed to identify and connect our citizens with high-value career opportunities. Call 225-769-2676 or rgomez@consultssa.com.