1) Global Netoptex, Inc.  :    High Tech/Downtown
Address: 50 Market Street
San Jose, Ca
Phone: 408-289-9395 (Main)
Contact: Derek Wise, CEO

Global Netoptex, Inc. (GNI), a San Jose-based new small business, specializing in network solutions and Internet connectivity, contacted work2future regarding support for an on-the-job training program. GNI is experiencing rapid growth in terms of revenues and employees. Over the last few years they have experienced triple-digit revenue growth and have seen their employee base grow from 4 individuals to nearly 30. Over the next year they plan to double their number of employees. In light of this tremendous growth, GNI faces a critical need to find and train employees within relatively short timeframes.

With this need in mind an on-the-job-training (OJT) project will target twenty WIA-eligible clients and provide them with a six-months of OJT in preparation for work as Data Center Technicians. Participants will be recruited, screened and referred to GNI from the work2future One-Stop Career Centers. Their first three months of training will be strictly on-the-job-shadowing, providing customer service, and learning the internal GNI systems. The next three months of training will result in an increase of the participant's existing duties with some formal classroom training in Cisco networking systems.

After they successfully complete their six-month training and probationary period, participants will continue to receive training at GNI's expense, and will receive the full employee benefit package.

The salary for participants during the first three months will be $10-14/hr.; which will rise to $14-$18/hr during the last three months of training/probation. And, full-time, regular employees of GNI receive $18-$25/hr as Data Center Technicians.

In addition, Mr. Wise requested pre-screened resumes for a Junior System Administrative Technician. Work 2 Future solicited and screened numerous resumes. GNI will be extending a job offer to a few of the individuals referred by work2future.


2) CityMutual    :    New fast growing Business
Address: 226 Airport Pkwy., Ste.150
Phone: 408- 487-2403
Contact: Sharon Hasegawa

City Mutual has recently relocated to San Jose near the Airport. They have entered the Hispanic Home Loan Market and want to employ bilingual English/Spanish call center customer service representatives along with loan officers. CityMutual will offer 40 WIA eligible individuals pre-employment and on-the-job training over a 12-month period, targeting bilingual (Spanish-speaking) individuals.

Twenty WIA-eligible individuals with one year of experience in the financial services field will be hired by CityMutual and then subsequently will be provided with three months of on-the-job training; work2future will pay one-half of the training salary, or $900 per month/per participant. After completion of training, participants will convert to permanent employees and will be extended the company's full benefit package.

A second group of twenty WIA eligible participants will receive a six-week course of pre-employment training in financial services by the Center for Training and Careers. At the end of training, CityMutual will interview and hire participants as regular employees. work2future will pay for one half of the training costs of $1,512 per participant.

CityMutual will pay for 50% of training cost at the time individual is enrolled in training; Work 2 Future's 50% contribution will be paid when person is actually employed for the job they are trained.


3) Toys ‘R Us   :   Large Retailer
Address: 925 Blossom Hill Rd.
San Jose, Ca
Phone: 408-247-7323
President: Mike Gordon, Regional Manager

Toys 'R Us used the San Jose One Stop to assist with their recruitment efforts starting October 2003. Mike Gordon, regional manager for the three stores located at Winchester, Capitol Ave., and Blossom Hill, convened all three Store Managers and other Management Staff to pre-screen initial candidates. These selected candidates went on for formal interviews.

This model proved to be very effective. Out of 92 job seekers, 20 received interviews and are potential hires pending background checks. Toys ‘R Us was seeking 50 people to fill seasonal jobs. On Toys 'R Us second visit to the San Jose One Stop they received an additional 100 applications. Mike Gordon shared his success on working with work2future and Toys 'R Us Corporate wanted more information to adopt this model at other Toys 'R Us as a way to do effective hiring. A total of 42 job seekers were hired from work2future efforts.

Mike Gordon was so pleased with the services Toys 'R Us received that he submitted the following testimonial:

"Toys 'R Us and work2future developed an effective partnership to recruit employees. The facilities were first rate, the screening of applicants was awesome, saving Toys 'R Us considerable trouble and expense. work2future 's support was excellent. We are looking forward to working with you again."


4) Barber Shop  :   Small, minority-owned business
Address: 1066 Story Road
San Jose, Ca. 95122
Phone: 408-288-8829
Owner: Thai Danh

This September 2004 work2future had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Thai Danh, owner of Barber Shop to discuss business services that work2future is now offering to small businesses. Mr. Thai's salon business was established over 10 years ago, and according to him is doing very well. However, Mr. Danh voiced a concern regarding energy use, indicating his interest to reduce energy consumption and lower his energy bill. He said, the neighboring business was assisted by an "agency" that helped changed all their light bulbs at no cost a few years ago. He had made several unsuccessful attempts to find information on this matter. He asked for assistance on whom best to contact for this type of business service.

work2future contacted the Redevelopment Agency which works with the Story Road Business Association. RDA referred work2future to PG's customer service office and mentioned that PG & E would provide this service at no cost for business establishments located in the City of San Jose's Redevelopment Area.

In October 2004 work2future contacted Mr. Thai with the information received from RDA. In January 2005 PG & E replaced the bulbs.


5) Heavenly Hands Spa  :   Small, minority, woman-owned business/Downtown
Address: 885 South First Street
San Jose, CA.
Phone: 408-947-1190
Owner: Valeria Cardenas

Valeria Cardenas is the sole proprietor for Heavenly Hands Salon. Ms. Cardenas opened her business about two years. Like many business owners, Ms. Cardenas started her business with very limited knowledge about the intricacies of running a business and has learned a lot through trial and error since she first opened for business. Though successful in many aspects of her business, she has realized that in order to run a business effectively, she must augment her knowledge and technical skills.

work2future visited with Ms. Cardenas in October 2004. After assessing her business needs, it was suggested she attend a technical training session offered at the Entrepreneur Center and she was provided with a schedule of training sessions at the E-center. Upon following up, she indicated that she had attended the Business Planning seminar on November 3rd. Ms. Cardenas stated this type of service represents a key ingredient to enhance her professional life as a business owner. She will continue to attend training sessions (e.g. marketing) as needed and work2future will continue to follow up.


6) J. MARTIN  :   Small, minority, woman-owned business
Address: 1915 Alum Rock, Ste. C,
San Jose, Ca
Phone: 408-929-4686
Owner: Ana Luz Monzon Bernal

J. Martin is a small, minority-woman owned retail store that over the last 2 years rents and sells tuxedos and bridal gowns. The owner, Ana Luz Monz󮠍 Bernal, and her family, run the business.

When work2future visited the business on November 1st the owner was very desperate since the store was to be closed to the public that day. She had just received a notice of revocation of her operating permit due to the failure to file the first, second, and third quarters of 2004 sales tax return with the State Board of Equalization.

work2future started inquires by contacting SBDC counselors and other resources to arrange a visit to the store to help them get a loan. On November 6, 2004, an SBDC counselor and work2future staff met with Ana and her husband to discuss their needs and develop a plan of action. The result was that a loan was secured to pay off all their tax debts and the store reopened on November 9, 2004.


7) El Primer Pueblo Libreria  :   Small minority owned business/Downtown
Address: 410 E. Santa Clara St.
San Jose, CA 95113
Phone: 408-295-3527
Office Manager: Debra Roman Magill

work2future met with Debra Roman Magill, Office Manager, and John Ramos, CEO, November 2004. They recently had opened a minority owned multi-cultural bookstore located in downtown San Jose. They had multiple needs: a marketing plan, access to capital, computer support.

work2future arranged a meeting with a SBDC Counselor, Debra Magill and John Ramos to assist development of marketing plan and accessing. Teresa Gonzalez of One Economy was contacted to assist the business in obtaining additional computers.


8) McCormick and Schmick's Seafood Restaurant   :   Downtown
Address: 170 Market Street
San Jose, Ca
Phone: 408- 283-7200 (Main)
Contact: Rich Villarreal, General manager

Rich Villarreal, General Manager, of McCormick and Schmick's Seafood Restaurants, opened a new restaurant in the Fairmont Hotel in December 2003 and needed 150 new employees. work2future assisted in this hiring effort by creating a recruiting flyer and marketing their hiring needs to work2future partners. work2future> also provided information about the Enterprise Zone Tax Credit which they also utilized. work2future clients were prescreened and referred with a pre-screened voucher.


9) LandMark Protection   :   Enterprise Zone
Address: 1150 N. First St.
San Jose, Ca 95112
Phone: 408-293-6300
President: Arlene Cahill

Landmark Protection has been a regular customer of work2future since work2future started in 2000 utilizing the recruitment services at the San Jose One Stop. Arlene Cahill has been a frequent visitor to the San Jose One Stop and stated:

“The San Jose One Stop Career Center helps keep us on the cutting edge of hiring the best in the industry. The current economy dictates that it is an employers market but we believe that hiring is not a numbers game. The San Jose One Stop staff goes out of their way to network with other organizations, thereby providing LandMark Protection, Inc. with additional recruiting resources. work2future assisted in various recruiting initiatives that helped our company a great deal. They are extremely proactive, innovative, and responsive to an employer's needs with a constant focus toward delivering value and exceeding customer expectations. We could not have managed to hire security officers and supervisors in such a professional and efficient manner without their help in such a competitive industry.”



10) Smurfitt - Stone Corporation   :   Food Container Manufacturer
Address: 1901 Junction Avenue
San Jose, CA 95131
Phone: 408-436-1680
323-725-3688
Contact: Jim Henderson
Regional General Manager

January 2004, Smurfitt-Stone laid off 94 employees. work2future made multiple presentations to their affected staff to be able to provide services to all interested employees. Though the lay-offs were in four stages, work2future was able to give the information to the entire group in a timely fashion.

The employees were very appreciative and felt that there was a brighter outlook to the future. work2future staff tries to use presentations as an opportunity to create a positive attitude in lay-off affected employees. Providing information and services to many that would otherwise not be able to receive career information regarding transition, re-training, or the local labor market creates a value beyond dollars. Laid-off employees deal with anger, frustration, and discouragement and it is the desire of work2future staff to turn these attitudes around to more positive outlooks.

Smurfitt-Stone is facing another lay-off of 300 employees in a local division, before January 2005. Because of the reputation work2future created when previously working with Smurfitt-Stone laid-off employees, the call was made to work2future to again provide services to those affected. Current arrangements are being made to provide similar services to this new group of Smurfitt-Stone employees.


11) Ciena Corporation   :   Fiber-optic Multiplexing Systems
Address: 5965 Silver Creek Valley Road
San Jose, CA 95138
Phone: 408-925-2728
Contact: David Vershure, HR Manager

Ciena Corporation gave closure notice on May 20, 2004. The closure would affect 425 employees through September, 2004. work2future, with OED staff, met with Ciena Administration and HR staff to discuss possible lay-off aversion, but Corporate Headquarters in Maryland made the closure of the San Jose plant official. A few staff would be relocated to Colorado or Maryland.

work2future and EDD staff worked with Ciena to provide workshops and presentations of services and to organize an on-site Job Fair for their employees.Over the many months and waves of lay-offs, work2future 's staff was available to provide needed encouragement and services. work2future critiqued resumes, gave one-on-one employment counseling, and directed employees to new job opportunities.

The Ciena HR staff said "our employees really appreciated [ work2future ] efforts to come out and meet with them to go over services offered." Ciena staff also asked to post the work2future presentation on their website for their employees to view as a resource tool.


12) San Jose Medical Center   :    OHS Hospital and Medical Facility
Address: 675 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95112
Phone: 408-977-4540
Contact: Steve Dixon, CEO SJMC
Loretta Plassmeyer, HR SJMC
Rod Meyer, HR RMC

Due to the closure of the San Jose Medical Center, 1014 employees will by affected by lay-offs with the loss of 450 jobs. Since the first announcement work2future has been working with Administrative and HR staff at all three of the HCA facilities (San Jose Medical, Regional and Good Samaritan hospitals) in our area. Due to seniority rights and bumping privileges all three of the sites will be affected.

Since the announcement in September, work2future , partnering with EDD, has scheduled Rapid Response presentations, workshops and job fairs to meet the needs of all affected employees. It is necessary to provide for three shifts of workers, in three languages, at three hospitals, with more than three weekly rotations. Initial scheduling produced the need for over 77 workshops before December 9, 2004, the date announced for closure. Union meetings and bumping proceedings have taken precedence, but work2future is continuing to be a presence on all three sites and available to all employees that request services.

A 25% Discretionary Grant is being applied to meet the training needs of more than 100 people that may not have ever worked outside of the San Jose Medical Center, some having been there for over 30 years. Others will be given opportunities in other industries that work2future is helping the City of San Jose to drive forward such as Hospitality & Tourism, Retail, Financial Services and Bioscience. Hospital HR and Administrative staff have spoken about "how beneficial it is for employees to have work2future services available to help them transition into new positions of employment. The future looks a bit brighter because work2future services are available."


13) Pratt-Whitney  :   Rocket Fuel Manufacturer
Address: 600 Metcalf Road
San Jose, C A 95138
Phone: 408-779-9121
408-776-5261
Contact: Wanda Ashby, HR Director
Contact: Peggy McGraw, Right Management


In May 2005 United Technologies' Pratt & Whitney Space Propulsion announced the closing of the San Jose plant that for half a century has built rocket motors for U.S. space flights. The closing of this long established facility is eliminating over 600 jobs.

work2future with the Office of Economic Development met with Pratt & Whitney Administrative and HR staff in May to discuss lay-off aversion strategies. But due to the cost of rebuilding after an explosion, plus competition in the solid-rocket industry, the choice was made to close.

work2future has been a monthly presence on their campus to provide services to all of the affected employees. Trying to continue to meet contract responsibilities, the lay-offs are coming in waves of 50-150 employees every 4-6 weeks and work2future has been able to meet all of the issues of lay-off with which these people are contending. work2future is providing workshops, on site testing and registration into the WIA program. The National Emergency Grant for High Technology was extended and made available for interested Pratt & Whitney employees to receive training to up-grade skills or transition into another career. As of November, approximately 150 of the employees are registered in the NEG program.

work2future staff will continue to provide needed services in all forms to any and all of the employees right up to the last day of closure.