Join community leaders, senior executives and HR professionals for an inspiring keynote and local expert panel highlighting a new model for Memphis workforce development on how to effectively hire and retain hard-to-employ workers.

Special Guest Burns Phillips, Tennessee Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, will be present to deliver the opening remarks

This session will highlight a very successful and nationally recognized welfare-to-career (W2C) program started in 1998 at Cascade Engineering, a manufacturing firm located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  This is a unique opportunity to hear the lessons learned at Cascade Engineering as it developed its W2C program with the expressed purpose of helping the unemployed and underemployed bridge out of poverty and off welfare.

 Cascade Engineering Quote on Welfare to Career Principles  “Before we integrated these principles, our turnover was 40-60% and cost us $3.6 million. Since then, our rate has been reduced to less than 5% and last year cost us under $500,000, proving that community-wide or regional change initiatives can significantly impact businesses’ bottom lines.”  - Dave A. Barrett, Director of Talent Management, Cascade Engineering, Inc.- Grand Rapids, Michigan

Participants will learn: 

• Why this model can save Memphis businesses millions of dollars a year
• The opportunities for giving and growing through corporate training
• The keys for creating a successful (W2C) program
• The tangible and intangible benefits for businesses
• What a business brings to the table to help solve the complex issues around disadvantaged 

Please arrive early to have time to park, find a seat, and grab some breakfast on us! 

Complimentary Garage Parking is available off of Monroe Ave.