Meet Dennis Chineke – Redondo Beach
Workforce Challenge:
Dennis, a 28-year old native of Raleigh, North Carolina, came to California and settled in Redondo Beach in 2013. He gained employment as a building maintenance technician and porter for Alliance Residential, a real estate property management firm in Santa Monica. But in 2016 company downsizing resulted in him being laid off.
Workforce Solution:
After researching his options for a couple months while drawing unemployment, Dennis decided to visit the Torrance One-Stop Business & Career Center in hopes of gaining some vocational training. He had previously earned his CompTIA A+ certificate and hoped to work in the computer field someday. The One-Stop counselor helped Dennis develop a plan to transition into the IT field and enrolled him in computer certification classes through ABCO Technology in Los Angeles.
Outcome and Benefits:
Following his graduation from ABCO, Dennis obtained his Cisco CCNA certification in March 2017 and a few months later was hired by EPIQ Systems in Century City as a Computer Technical Support Specialist nearly doubling his previous salary of $12.75/hr to $23/hr.
"The ongoing support I received from the One-Stop Center staff in updating my resume and with job leads and interview coaching was extremely valuable in helping me succeed in my job search."