PPL Learning Center helps adults
improve their skills

Underemployed and unemployed adults seeking to improve their skills have a new option at the Project for Pride in Living Emma B. Howe Learning Center, located at the corner of Chicago and Franklin avenues in Minneapolis.
A custom rehab on the PPL-owned building created appointed spaces for a Community Access Lab and classrooms for PPL’s successful job training program, Train to Work. These programs are on the second floor. At the ground level, remodeled retail space raises the curb appeal, in keeping with the continued renewal of the Franklin Avenue corridor.

“We’ve made a professional, appealing space for people to get to work on their future.” says Steve Studt, PPL Director of Jobs and Training. “Enter the Learning Center and you’ll find the right place to start. You’ll also find where to take your next steps toward gaining employment that will pay a living wage.”
The exterior rehab of the Learning Center will be complete by early October, in time for the Grand Opening celebration. But the doors on the new PPL Learning Center have been open to the public since late July, 2006. In the first month nearly 200 people stopped by to use the resources and computers and to inquire about programs. To date, more than 2,500 people have walked through the doors.

The new Learning Center increases public access to both training and technology for area residents.
Community Access Lab is free and open to the public. It provides one-to-one support by a three-person team of AmeriCorps Members and community volunteers. Computers are available to search online, practice typing and prepare for GED testing. Free weekly workshops cover the basics of word processing, the internet and e-mail. Employment and community resources are available on DVD, the Web and in print.

Train to Work is a classroom-based job training program offering entry level and career laddering opportunities with a focus on the health care field. Since its start in 1997, Train to Work has graduated over 900 trainees, of which 537 have been placed in full-time jobs at participating hospitals, affiliated organizations or other health care employers. Job retention measured at 18 months has consistently been 80 percent over the life of the program. The average starting wage for graduates is $11.50/hour in jobs offering full benefits.

Also on site is the Health Careers Partnership office, where interested people can meet with admissions staff from Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and learn about available financial aid, including special tuition loans supported by Abbott Northwestern, Children’s Minneapolis, North Memorial and HCMC, for current employees.