Vocational Development

To help individuals discover a career path that is fulfilling and will sustain them after leaving The Mission, our Vocational Development Team helps with all aspects of job readiness, including: obtaining proper identification, fostering a growth mindset, identifying strengths and areas for development, preparing a resume, practicing interview skills, conducting job searches, bouncing back from rejection, maintaining a solid work ethic, managing finances, and developing a successful employment plan.

In addition to working with our current clients, several of our former clients recently reached out to us after losing their jobs when the companies they were working for downsized because of the pandemic. Within a day, based on their training and our recommendation, we were able to help several clients obtain employment at BJ’s Warehouse, where the director of human resources said, “We wish we could clone them.”

We also developed an innovative, a one-of-a-kind, partnership with the University of Pennsylvania – which offers an intensive training program led by Penn faculty and students to a small group of our clients, with the goal of helping them start and succeed in running their own businesses. One of the graduates of the program, who slept under a bridge before coming to The Mission, now owns his own auto repair businesses and just hired his first employee, who is also in recovery.

Our Vocational Development Program succeeds by combining skills training with counseling that helps individuals realize their potential.