Mayor Rawlings-Blake and Horseshoe Casino Baltimore Mark “Workforce Development Month” and Highlight Significant Achievements in Hiring and Training at Employment Connection Center in South Baltimore
Monday Sep 26th, 2016
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September 26, 2016 | Anthony McCarthy |
Mayor Rawlings-Blake and Horseshoe Casino Baltimore Mark “Workforce Development Month” and Highlight Significant Achievements in Hiring and Training at Employment Connection Center in South Baltimore Employment Connection Center, financed with Local Impact Grant funds from casino revenue, has successfully placed hundreds of City residents | |
BALTIMORE, Md. (September 26, 2016)—Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake joined representatives from Horseshoe Casino Baltimore and the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED) to mark “Workforce Development Month" and to highlight the significant achievements in job placement at the Employment Connection Center (ECC) in South Baltimore. The ECC, which is operated by MOED, has enrolled more than 1,200 local residents in job readiness programs and placed nearly 300 individuals in jobs with area businesses since the innovative facility opened a little more than a year ago. Supported exclusively with Local Impact Grant funds paid to the City out of casino revenues, the ECC helps companies “hire locally” by matching them with residents from the neighborhoods of South and Southwest Baltimore. The center has a full-time staff of five and is one of four satellite employment career centers in Baltimore operated by MOED. Creating such a one-stop shop was a top priority of the Baltimore Casino Local Development Council, the official body advising Mayor Rawlings-Blake and the City on the allocation of impact grant funding. “I am grateful for Horseshoe Casino and to the LDC for their collaboration in creating opportunities for economic empowerment in South Baltimore,” said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. “In fewer than 18 months, the ECC and its many partnering employers, like Horseshoe, have connected hundreds of City residents with jobs that meet their skills. This is an example of what happens when businesses, government, and the community come together to strategically leverage resources.” The ECC primarily serves residents of the Casino Impact Area or “South Baltimore Gateway,” which includes Washington Village/Pigtown, Cherry Hill, Westport, Lakeland, Mount Winans, Sharp-Leadenhall, South Baltimore, Riverside and other neighborhoods. ECC personnel connect residents with critical job skills training and employment opportunities in the Baltimore City region. Customers benefit from resume-building services, assistance in completing online job applications and guidance on crafting cover letters. Additionally, the ECC assists area businesses in finding qualified, local and job-ready candidates to build their organizations. In partnering with the ECC, employers receive free help with outreach and recruitment, candidate assessment and testing, applicant pre-screening and labor market analysis, all designed to foster informed hiring decisions. “As a local employer who wants to hire the best candidates in the community, we’re pleased to support a facility that helps individuals learn the skills they need to excel in the workforce,” said Horseshoe Baltimore Senior Vice President and General Manager Erin Chamberlin. “We view our contributions to the ECC as part of an ongoing partnership with MOED that began with our unprecedented local hiring initiative in advance of the casino’s opening in 2014 and has resulted in Baltimore City residents making up nearly 60 percent of our team.” Other area companies hiring through the center include Ellicott Dredges, Hilgartner Natural Stone Company, Second Chance, Amazon, Delaware North, Barco Enterprises, K & K Adams, MedStar, Genesis HeathCare, Filk Dining Services, Pagatha Solutions and STX. About the Employment Connection Center The Employment Connection Center is a collaboration of the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development and the Baltimore Casino Local Development Council, financed with Local Impact Grant funds resulting from the Horseshoe Casino. The ECC is one of four satellite employment centers, joining three Community Job Hubs and two, full-service, One-Stop Career Centers operated by MOED. It offers job seekers an opportunity to upgrade their basic computer skills, gain additional computer certifications, explore careers, prepare for interviews and connect to employers. Employers in the Casino Impact Area also benefit, with a full suite of business services geared to ensuring that they have access to qualified workers. Program staffing includes a business services representative, a computer/skills trainer and case management personnel. The ECC is located at 1410 Bush Street in the Carroll-Camden Industrial Area. For more information about workforce services for businesses and job seekers, please visit moed.baltimorecity.gov. About Horseshoe Casino Baltimore Horseshoe Baltimore, developed by CBAC Borrower, LLC, is located on Russell Street extending the city’s tourism footprint and serving as Baltimore’s southern gateway to the city. As a city-integrated casino, it is designed to maximize connectivity with existing hospitality operators, neighboring sports venues M&T Bank Stadium and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and the city’s famed Inner Harbor. The casino, which opened Aug. 26, 2014, employs more than 1,800 team members and nearly 60% of these employees are Baltimore City residents. The facility houses 2,200 video lottery terminals, more than 150 table games and a 25-table World Series of Poker-branded poker room amid 122,000 square feet of gaming space. CBAC Borrower, LLC is indirectly owned and controlled by Caesars Growth Partners, LLC (CGP), a joint venture between Caesars Entertainment Corporation and Caesars Acquisition Company, together with a world-class consortium of partners consisting of Rock Gaming LLC; CVPR Gaming Holdings, LLC; STRON-MD and PRT TWO, LLC boasting unmatched expertise and a proven track record in gaming development and operations, entertainment, capital management and urban development and renewal. Horseshoe Baltimore is managed by a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment Corporation. For more information, please visit www.caesarsacquisitioncompany.com. About Local Impact Grant funds and the Local Development Council The state law that authorized casino gaming calls for a portion of gambling revenues to directly benefit the surrounding communities in the form of “Local Impact Grants,” collected by the State of Maryland as a portion of video lottery terminal, or VLT, revenues. Specifically, 4.5% of VLT revenues from Horseshoe Casino Baltimore are paid to the City of Baltimore for use in the designated “Casino Impact Area,” or CIA, comprised the neighborhoods, parks and industrial zones that fall within a one- to two-mile radius of the casino. This area is also referred to as the South Baltimore Gateway and is the subject of the City’s South Baltimore Gateway Master Plan adopted in 2015. Under state law, LIG funds may support “infrastructure investments, facilities, public safety, sanitation, economic and community development, including housing, and other public services and investments.” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has been working with community stakeholders since 2013 to ensure that these funds strengthen communities in South Baltimore by supplementing, not replacing, what is available for community services and development initiatives from existing City resources, and to strategically target LIG funds in ways that leverage additional resources, including other sources of public and private funding. The Baltimore Casino Local Development Council (LDC) is the official advisory body of community representatives, businesses and institutions tasked with advising the Mayor on how LIG funds are spent. The LDC and City agencies utilize the South Baltimore Gateway Master Plan to guide their work in allocating LIG funds both on an annual basis and in planning for longer-term initiatives. About Workforce Development Month In September 2015, the Hogan Administration proclaimed September as Workforce Development Month in recognition of the key role the development of a skilled and adaptable workforce has in the vitality of Maryland’s sustained economic growth. Through the implementation of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and with the help of Baltimore’s career center services, Maryland is poised to modernize its workforce system to efficiently provide unparalleled professional services to assist Marylanders seeking employment and to empower a competitive workforce that continually refines its skills to meet global needs. | |
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