In November 2019, Joseph became a dislocated worker after being laid off from Tetra Technologies. For weeks, he searched for employment in the Oil Industry, but subsequently, his job search crawled to a near standstill due to the rapid decrease of job opportunities in the area.
As a result, he attended the Re-Employment Service Job Search Workshop at the Faulkner County Library in Conway, hosted by the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services, and he learned of the available opportunities through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity (WIOA) Grant.
Shortly after, he met with Ashlee Ennis, a Career Consultant at the Arkansas Workforce Center in Conway, to discuss his options. In January 2020, he enrolled in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Dislocated Worker Program, and attended the Diesel Driving Academy where he learned the necessary skills and obtained the experience he needed to become a CDL Class A driver.
In February 2020, Joseph graduated with his certificate and became a licensed CDL Class A truck driver with a bright outlook. Less than a week after he graduated, Joseph received several job offers. In March 2020, Joseph accepted a job with Tyson Foods as a CDL truck driver!
Overall, he is grateful for the opportunity available through the WIOA Dislocated Worker Program, and said, "WIOA helped guide me through a tough time when I wasn't sure what to do. Working with them opened a treasure chest of options that is limitless! I am in the complete opposite situation than I was before training, and now I have an abundance of options for jobs!"
