RETHINKING is a suite of programs aimed at building confidence, motivation, and accountability leading to rapid employment. The three RETHINKING programs teach cognitive-behavioral and/or work-ready skills designed to develop healthy thinking and employer-demanded skills.
In 2012 Willamette Workforce Partnership (WWP) recognized the need for an intervention that would reduce the socioemotional consequences of unemployment. Workforce centers in the US historically have been ill-prepared to meet this need and in fact, there are few examples of using cognitive-behavioral (CB) techniques in US workforce settings. Through research, we determined that countries such as the UK, Australia, and Finland used CB interventions with the unemployed with great success. Thus, the RETHINKING idea was born!
Rethinking Job Search is a transformative workshop series created by Willamette Workforce Partnership (WWP), which has changed disillusioned, angry job seekers into successful and confident workers. This innovative program, based on cognitive behavioral techniques (CBT), addresses the emotional and social consequences of unemployment that reduce a job seeker’s ability to job search.
A WWP staffer, who is an experienced psychotherapist and instructional designer, developed the curriculum. In 2012, the Kaiser Permanente Community Health Fund, granted seed money to develop the curriculum for a small pilot of workshops in the mid-Willamette Valley. The results exceeded expectations. In 2015, the federal Department of Labor funded an expanded five-year pilot with ten workforce boards in Oregon. Over 1,200 UI recipients participated, and the results were phenomenal. Participants gained and retained employment.
In 2020 – 21, WWP and the Oregon Employment Department redeployed Rethinking Job Search using a virtual platform. This pilot, although implemented during the pandemic and delivered virtually, was successful. Again, UI recipients gained and retained employment. OED will continue the program in 2023.
Rethinking Careers is an innovative curriculum created by Willamette Workforce Partnership (WWP) that has enabled youth to develop skills to compete in the workforce. The curriculum consists of work-ready and cognitive behavioral skills when combined, teach youth to be successful in the workplace.
A WWP staffer, who is an experienced psychotherapist and instructional designer, developed the curriculum in 2014. During the development of Rethinking Careers, a focus group comprised of ten employers identified the essential employability skills they valued most in an employee. These included skills in three buckets: 1. Communication skills, 2. Building Credibility skills, 3. Decision Making and Problem-Solving skills.
WWP’s youth providers offer this innovative program and other state workforce boards and non-profits have participated. Rethinking Careers is now an important part of WWP’s Y-CAN program. To date over 650 youths have participated in Rethinking Careers.
In 2022 Rethinking Careers was translated into Spanish, in its entirety to ensure we are reaching native Spanish speakers.
Rethinking Barriers to Employment helps those who have experienced homelessness, addiction, incarceration and/or other significant barriers, discover their confidence and motivation, set goals and more quickly find a job. This educational program focuses on building “work-ready” and cognitive-behavioral skills through guided discussions and self-reflection. Preparing this population for work is especially important today as employers struggle to find workers.
A WWP staffer, who is an experienced psychotherapist and instructional designer, developed the curriculum and implemented pilots in 2019. Seed money from several Yamhill County organizations and businesses matched by WWP made this program possible. St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in McMinnville, and Love, INC, in Newberg are using the program and a pilot series will begin soon with Easterseals Veteran’s Employment Services, in Salem.
Hear the Successes!
What’s Next for Rethinking?
The successful Rethinking Job Search project has since morphed into Rethinking Careers, Rethinking Barriers, and has been tailored for specialized populations for re-entry projects, people experiencing disabilities, and translated for Spanish-only speakers.
