One of the areas our clients in the workforce development field find most challenging is helping retail workers to navigate the transition associated with highly seasonal positions. This holiday season, we’re excited to be collaborating with our friends at Henry Street Settlement and Uncommon Goods, a progressive employer located at the Brooklyn Army Terminal who has recognized this challenge for its workforce.

Uncommon Goods is an online marketplace offering creatively designed, high-quality merchandise at affordable prices. They have set out to create a business that makes uncommon goods accessible to their customers. Like many retailers with a holiday rush, Uncommon Goods hires a lot of temporary staff who will need to look for new jobs in January. Because Uncommon Goods exercises its social responsibility by making their workplace ever-more rewarding, they wanted to find a way to ease that transition for seasonal workers.

Henry Street Settlement, a venerable social service provider and previous client of Public Works, asked us to help them design and implement a program that would give Uncommon Goods’ seasonal workers a head start on their employment transition. We are working on-site with Uncommon Goods and Henry Street staff to provide access to job placement and support services during work hours, including the opportunity for workers to discuss their employment plans, obtain referrals for additional services, and to  apply for other benefits.

We’re thrilled to be reminded, through collaborations like this, how grateful we are for the work we have done for our clients this past year. Public Works Partners wishes you and your families a joyful and peaceful holiday season, and impactful 2014.