Senior Community Service Employment Program

SER National is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to operate the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) focusing on the training and employment needs of the mature worker. SER serves over 3,500 participants in over 150 counties in 8 states each year. SCSEP, in its ninth year of operation, is administered locally by SER sub grantees in the following states: California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Coaching to Care and Healthcare Career Programs

SER National and its affiliate network strive to build awareness and provide necessary training for customers in the healthcare professions. For example, in San Antonio, SER is working with University Health System to implement a program that helps under-employed, limited English proficient employees at UHS get the training they need to earn higher wages in several targeted occupations. The partnership also provides community training for health profession jobs. And in Chicago, SER has developed a national model with its Healthcare Careers Bridge Program. For the past several years, SER has worked closely with its partners to provide a career pathway into the healthcare industry for people with low levels of literacy and English skills by giving them targeted instruction and practical career training. Throughout the country, SER invests in America's healthcare workforce by serving as the critical link between healthcare industry employers and qualified, skilled job candidates.

--Coaching to Care is an innovative nationwide program funded by the Department of Labor and managed by SER National. The program supports 10 sub-grantees, allowing them to provide personalized coaching, specially-designed interactive computer software and internet access to facilitate career exploration in the healthcare industry. Coaching to Care allows participating SER affiliates and their network of local and national community partners to offer important information about healthcare industry employment to Hispanics, African Americans, and other underserved and underemployed populations.

One-Stop Career Centers

One-Stop Career Centers are the focal point of the nation's workforce investment system. These centers - which are an integral, lively part of the communities in which they are located - provide a broad array of employment and training services for workers, youth and businesses, including the mandatory Workforce Investment Act (WIA) partners on-site. The centers give job seekers easy access to a range of assistance options - all under one roof - including training referrals, career counseling, job listings, and similar employment-related services. The centers also offer essential services to employers and businesses. Many of the SER affiliates across the country operate the centers in partnership with local governing institutions. In New Mexico, SER Santa Fe operates 14 One-Stop Career Centers, providing services to half the state. SER also operates centers in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, and Texas.

Innovative Adult Workforce Programs

Local SER affiliates operate other workforce development programs targeting Hispanics and all other underrepresented minority groups. In Houston, SER of the Texas Gulf Coast is implementing a Pathways Out of Poverty grant focused on creating job skills in green construction trades and providing career pathways to over 400 people who have dropped out of high school or were involved in the criminal justice system.