Long-time NCDA member Ken Soper, Co-Founder of EaRN Employment and Resource Network based in West Michigan, appeared as a webcast panelist in  “Job Clubs & Employment Ministries: On the Front Lines of Getting Americans Back to Work”, in Washington DC on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, by invitation from U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) Secretary Hilda L. Solis.  The webcast has been coordinated by USDOL’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.   Click Link to listen: http://www.dol.gov/cfbnp/new.htm

Webcast panelist Ken Soper is a National Board of Certified Counselors National Certified Counselor (N.C.C.) and National Certified Career Counselor (N.C.C.C.), one of just 800 people worldwide with both of these certifications.  He is also a Master Career Counselor, one of the first world-wide to be recognized for his expertise and skills by the National Career Development Association, the premier professional association for career counseling and coaching.  He's a graduate of Richard Bolles’ internationally acclaimed “Life/Work Planning Workshop”, and one of the career counselors from North America listed annually in the resources appendices of Bolles’ all-time best-seller on job hunting and career changing, What Color Is Your Parachute?  Ken earned an Master of Arts degree from Ball State University (Indiana) emphasizing Career Counseling and Human Resources, and a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Massachusetts). His undergraduate degree in History and a Business minor is from Taylor University (Indiana).

The USDOL webcast roundtable event focused on the important role of job clubs in getting Americans back to work. Panelists included job club coordinators, workforce development officials, faith leaders, researchers, and workers who will discuss the various ways job clubs, work groups, and employment ministries support communities to help the unemployed regain their footing and transition back to the workforce.

Job Club programs based at religious institutions, community organizations, and more recently online offer an opportunity for unemployed individuals to come together and share job search techniques and professional networks, learn about careers and programs, and provide peer and grief counseling support.

The Department of Labor's Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships is launching a new project to connect job clubs to each other through a Workforce3One.org Community of Practice (https://partnerships.workforce3one.org/) where individuals can share best practices, tools, and resources; and to also facilitate partnerships between job clubs and the workforce investment system, including One-Stop Career Centers.

EaRN Employment and Resource Network (www.earn-network.org) is an innovative, non-denominational Christian, resource-rich ministry through churches, becoming a growing network helping people find meaningful work and stay employable while strengthening their faith.  EaRN links job seekers to volunteer congregants as coaches and mentors for support, encouragement, and spiritual nurture one-on-one, and through support groups and cutting-edge career and work search web-based resources during times of career and employment transition.  EaRN is a 501c3 non-profit organization co-founded by Frank Bettig, Bruce Hakim, and Ken Soper.