Thanks to a long-time relationship between Job Corps and CareerSource NEFL, Lana Kemp is preparing for a full-time position with Love’s at its facility on Pecan Park Road in Jacksonville.
And it wasn’t even the job she was going for at the travel company.
“This young lady has a really wonderful story,” said CareerSource NEFL Apprenticeship Navigator Doreen Lund. “I found out about Lana when Tanzy James at Job Corps contacted me asking about Love’s Diesel Mechanic Apprenticeship, which Lana was interested in. Tanzy’s email also included Cynthia Owens (CareerSource NEFL Director of One Stop Operations), so I could tell she had been working with us for a while.”
James says she’s worked as a partner with CareerSource for more than 20 years, administering training and employment grants in Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Job Corps is one of 120 campuses across the country that provides free career training and education for 16-—through 24-year-olds.
James recently took on the role of advanced career coordinator at Job Corps, working with advanced manufacturing students and their instructors.
“Because our students come from all over, they weren’t familiar with CareerSource and neither was the instructor, so we took a group of five students on a tour at the Gateway Career Center in February…and Lana was in that group,” James said. “Cynthia Owens set it up, and her staff gave us a great overview of all the programs and resources available to them.”
Kemp had already completed three trades with Job Corps, including the advanced manufacturing trade, and was very anxious to move on with her career.
“Johnson & Johnson Vision sponsors the Advanced Manufacturing program and typically hires our graduates,” James said. “However, Lana had a sense of urgency to transition from the program with employment as soon as possible. Through an in-person recruitment event at a career center, Lana also had an interview with Coca-Cola in the works at the time, so she was motivated to find meaningful work. That’s when she mentioned the apprenticeship opportunity at Love’s and I connected with Doreen.”
The connection between Kemp and Love’s came quickly.
“I have a contact at Love’s and shared what a great job Lana had been doing and forwarded her resume on and they must have been pretty impressed,” Lund said. “They called her the next day and Lana had an interview the following day.”
However, instead of the apprenticeship she was inquiring about, Love’s offered Kemp a full-time position as a service advisor and a higher care technician for the company. In her new role, Kemp will be working with customers to fulfill service needs, providing cost estimates, sales promotions and customer service, along with assisting maintenance crews with some projects.
“I love hands on work, so I’m looking forward to the maintenance part of the job,” she said.
Kemp says she appreciates the help from Job Corps and CareerSource NEFL in leading her to the position.
“I’m very happy,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of people around me talk about how hard it is to find a job, and applying for so many jobs not hearing anything back is discouraging, so to have these connections and these people around me who are so willing to assist me….I’m so grateful. After the tour at Gateway, I told my mom she should move out and get with CareerSource to get a better job. I’ll definitely be recommending to other people, for sure.”
James agreed. “As far as CareerSource is concerned, they’ve been a great partner in funding different programs for summer job opportunities, internships, paid internships, and just career readiness opportunities for our young adults — which is so needed,” she said. “A lot of people in the community are not aware of the services they provide. I definitely encourage people who are in the market for a new job or want to continue their education or start a new career, to definitely go to CareerSource Northeast Florida …which is a great job resource.”