Resources in the Region

Description of Services – U Can B Group Sessions U Can B group sessions include a variety of activities designed to engage students of all backgrounds, levels of ability, interests, and skill level. The classroom sessions offer learning experiences through a number of hands-on and lecture-based presentations. Topic areas include the following: 1.) Work Readiness & Soft Skills – U Can B teachers and guest speakers offer a plethora of content related to work readiness and soft skills. Through video, lecture and activity, students learn about Teamwork, Communication, Critical Thinking & Problem Solving, Professionalism, Interview Skills, and Workplace Culture. 2.) Networking & Job Search – U Can B students learn from teachers and local HR representatives the most up-to-date and effective job searching techniques. These include Networking, Using Social Media, Using Social Media Responsibly, How to Work a Job Fair, Job Applications, Resume Writing, and more! 3.) Career Awareness – U Can B guest speakers provide students with first-hand career awareness and exposure to careers in IT, Health Care, Film & Media, Green & Sustainable, Veterinarian & Animal Care, Trades, Government & Politics, and Entrepreneurship. 4.) Basic IT Skills – Through the use and access to O*Net Online (a DOL career exploration database), Career Talk on KDKA, and other technologies, U Can B students have an opportunity to enhance and/or improve basic IT skills. The U Can B Program supplements classroom learning with other activities designed to educate students, give students exposure to the world of work, and to generate potential employment opportunities for high school students and/or soon-to-be graduates. U Can B services are for sure unique. The program stands alone in that it currently operates in local schools and interacts daily with the local business community. U Can B services offer a unique educational experience to local high school and middle schools students while simultaneously serving as the bridge between young, local talent and employers in the public and private sectors who are seeking the next generation of Pittsburgh’s talented...

Pittsburgh Perry High School and local nonprofit, Building Bridges for Business, hosts Opportunity Fairs for parents, students and local employers. Building Bridges for Business, Perry High School and the Pittsburgh Public Schools will host the Opportunity Fair at Perry High School in the Northside of Pittsburgh, PA. Councilwoman Darlene Harris said, “I’d like to thank the Pittsburgh Public Schools and Building Bridges for organizing this unique event. It is important for the city’s youth to know that there are great opportunities for blue and white collar jobs on the North Side, and throughout the Pittsburgh region. I encourage both parents and students to attend.” The Perry High School – Opportunity Fair will be held in March 15, 2016 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm in the Perry High School cafeteria. Employers and recruiters will give information to potential employees. Both adults and student job seekers can attend the Opportunity Fair on March 15, 2016. Parents and students are encouraged to bring a resume and apply for positions that evening. Parents and students will be able to meet with 15+ employers including The City of Pittsburgh, Modcloth, Bidwell, Rosedale Technical College, Goodwill, Allegheny Health Network, Job Corps, The Program for Offenders, UPS, Atlas Dreams Languages, US District Court, Logix Guru, American Income Life and local Northside businesses. Building Bridges for Business is a 501©3 organization providing career education via their program U can B. U can B has 80+ weeks of curriculum meeting the Pennsylvania State Education Association teaching standards. The U can B program also uses their Coffee With Show videos and in person speakers to engage students. Entrepreneurs and businesspeople, along with the non-profit organization Building Bridges for Business, are giving local students the chance to see what life is like after high school and college. Building Bridges for Business will host several other Opportunity Fair events throughout Allegheny County. Every event will provide access to education and the region’s amazing business resources. Details of the organization’s history and programs can be found on www.buildingbridgesforbusiness.org. Contact for the Press Release Ebony Pugh, Public Information Officer, Pittsburgh Public Schools Work phone is 412-529-3616 and cell...

Perry High School and local non profit, Building Bridges for Business, hosts Opportunity Fairs for parents, students and local employers. Building Bridges for Business, Perry High School and the Pittsburgh Public Schools will host the Opportunity Fair at Perry High School in the Northside of Pittsburgh, PA. Parents and students will be able to apply for jobs. Councilwoman Darlene Harris said, “I’d like to thank the Pittsburgh Public Schools and Building Bridges for organizing this unique event. It is important for the city’s youth to know that there are great opportunities for blue and white collar jobs on the North Side, and throughout the Pittsburgh region. I encourage both parents and students to attend.” The Perry High School – Opportunity Fair will be held in March 15, 2016 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm in the Perry High School cafeteria. Employers and recruiters, will give information to potential employees. Both adults and student job seekers can attend the Opportunity Fair on March 15, 2016. Parents and students are encouraged to bring your resume and apply for positions that evening. Parents and students will be able to meet with 15+ employers including Allegheny Health Network, The City of Pittsburgh, Modcloth, Amazon, Bidwell, Rosedale Technical College, and local Northside businesses. Building Bridges for Business is a 501©3 organization providing career education via their program U can B. U can B has 60+ weeks of curriculum meeting the PA STATE teaching guidelines. U can B also uses their Coffee With Show and in person speakers to engage students. Entrepreneurs and businesspeople, along with the non-profit organization Building Bridges for Business, are giving local students the chance to see what life is like after high school and college. Building Bridges for Business will host several other Opportunity Fair events throughout Allegheny County. Every event will provide access to education and the region’s amazing business resources. Details of the organization’s history and programs can be found on...

Webinar Schedule – June 2015 CLICK here for the List and to REGISTER http://thealbertinstitute.com/109612.html Click any title for registration details! Webinars for career growth. A portion of the profits from all webinar sessions will benefit Building Bridges for Business, a 501c3 that provides career awareness education for students grades 7-12! Rap Sheet Cleanup Friday, June 5th @ 10:00 AM EST Rap Sheet Cleanup Topics will include How to Interpret a Criminal Record, Process for Making Corrections, Filing Expungements and How to Access National… Databases for Assistance! Networking 101 Wednesday, June 10th @ 10:00 AM EST This workshop will provide job seekers and career counselors tips for building contact lists, using social media and creating a branded message that will help generate better job leads. Very practical and applicable information. Participants will leave this webinar with actual tools and strategies that can be put to use same day! This webinar is esential for career growth. Job Club 1-2-3! Friday, June 12th @ 10:00 AM EST Job Club 1-2-3 is a step-by-step guide for setting up and carrying out successful Job Clubs. This workshop is ideal for job developers and career counselors who want to improve program outcomes. Topics will include Job Club History & Effectiveness, A Typical Job Club Agenda and more! Using LinkedIn for Job Search Friday, June 19th @ 10:00 AM EST Social Media can be a powerful tool in the job seeker’s toolbox. LinkedIn is sort of the professional’s version of Facebook. If utilized correctly, LinkedIn can help job seekers connect with employers. This webinar will focus on LinkedIn profiles, tips for following potential employers and the ways of tapping into passive job leads! Participants will leave this webinar with practical tools and strategies that can be put to use same day! Upcoming Sessions! Offender Workforce Development Basic Skills – Online! g-CDF Pittsburgh – September of...

The Entrepreneurship Ecosystem – Part 2 As stated in a previous Building Bridges for Business article, the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem is a network of elements that have an interest in there being more entrepreneurs in their region. But do all the elements work for all entrepreneurs? In this post we will give you some examples of how certain elements of the ecosystem do not work for all entrepreneurs. Let’s start with financing. A bank is a crucial element in the ecosystem, but not in the beginning. It is a known fact that banks usually do not finance start-up businesses. So how then are they a crucial part of the ecosystem? Once a business has a sound financial background to work with, banks are more likely to talk to them about expansion. As the business expands it strengthens the community and gives new businesses the confidence they need to succeed. The educational system is also a major player in the ecosystem, but not a necessity. There are more and more courses being taught on entrepreneurship but they did not always exist. An entrepreneur is someone with creativity, foresight and the courage to take a chance. You don’t get these things from an education. However, you can strengthen your accounting skills, learn how to effectively write a business plan and how to market your business through an education. It is said that co-working spaces and incubators help the ecosystem. This may be true but not necessarily as a major player. Some entrepreneurs feel these types of working spaces stifle their creativity, while others feel they are highly motivated. It really depends on the personality as to which way they go. The entrepreneurship ecosystem needs all the players in order to succeed in strengthening the regional business climate. But not all parts of the ecosystem are needed for all the entrepreneurs. Each player will use the parts it needs in order to succeed....

Glen Meakem Forever Featured on Coffee With… Glen Meakem, Founder & CEO of Forever.com, is a successful entrepreneur and business leader who has founded and built a number of companies, but his passion for preserving important information and memories goes back to 1991 when he returned from serving as a U.S. Army officer in the First Gulf War. That summer, Glen and his wife, Diane, recorded videos of their grandparents talking about their lives and values. Watch Glen Meakem discuss Forever now! Ever since, Glen has thought about how to permanently preserve and share those videos and other family treasures. After many years, these thoughts led to the founding of Forever in May of 2012. It might have been a picture in an old shoe box, or a story told by a beloved grandmother, or a recipe card that’s starting to tatter, but there comes a time when we think about our loved ones, the mark they’ve left on the family, the things they’ve left behind. What will happen to those old albums and home movies? With Forever™, you can secure and share those precious moments for generations. Forever is the world’s first permanent online photo storage and sharing service. Forever guarantees it will save and enable sharing of photos (and soon documents and videos) in Permanent Member’s Accounts for the member’s lifetime plus 100 years, with the goal of thousands of years. Forever does not sell or disclose its member’s personal information to advertisers or any unwanted third parties; you retain complete ownership rights. Permanent members of Forever pay a one-time membership fee and also pay up-front into the Forever Guarantee Fund for permanent storage. The Forever Guarantee Fund acts as a permanent endowment, generating income and gains which pay for storage, sharing and data migration to new file formats over time. Sign up today for your FREE 90-day Intro Membership! Visit Forever.com for more information or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or...