Before becoming the Workforce Design Coordinator at La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership (LEAP), Erik Nelson had an impressive background in sports management and business. Nelson attended North Central College and worked closely with the Chicago Bears and the University of Notre Dame, where he was employed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic, unfortunately, changed things for a lot of people including Nelson, who ended up being furloughed and lost his position altogether.
When looking for a new career, Nelson knew he wanted to make an impact on both himself and the community around him. This led him to his position at LEAP, which he started in September of this year.
“As a Workforce Development Coordinator, I am strictly focused on the youth workforce, such as high school graduates that don't necessarily have plans for after graduating high school. Maybe they don't want to go to college or go to any sort of secondary training and they're going right to the workforce. I'm the middleman between some of the local high schools and our employers in the greater report area,” said Nelson.
With about three months under his belt, Nelson has visited five local schools to empower, encourage, and educate the youth on the importance of workforce development.
“I meet with the superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or counselors at the schools and sit down with students and ask them to bring a copy of their resume. To better assist them, I‘ll put together a short questionnaire, review their resume with them. I'll try to understand them better, start getting their gears turning while speaking with them about some of the positions I know that are available that they might be a good fit for.” Nelson said.
When Nelson isn't spending his free time with family and friends watching football and preparing for the upcoming holidays, he’s constantly thinking of ways to approach the youth and prepare them for their future endeavors.
“I am strictly workforce since I work with the mayor and other city officials and discuss the youth demographic, but I'm also not going to turn away an adult who seeking employment, too. I'm also developing relationships with the appropriate individuals, whether that's their guidance counselors or their teachers that are strictly involved in work-based learning programs, and I'm building relationships with them that way. On the flip side of that, I also go out and meet with local employers and build a relationship with them, whether it's their President or CEO or just their human resource personnel.” said Nelson.
Although Nelson is new to this position, he has already made a big impact by increasing the number of jobs available to young adults and is proud of his progress.
“There have been a couple of instances where I've been able to get students part-time opportunities that will give them more work experience. I think back to the first student I placed in a position. We met with the management and took a tour of the facility. The student was able to actually work for half a day that day, while he was completing another program. Although I noticed he was nervous when we first got there, by the end of it, I think he had gotten a little more comfortable and I could see a smile on his face. It was just a rewarding experience. It's just cool to be able to make an impact like that and in the community that I was born and raised in," Nelson said.
Nelson encourages everyone who is seeking employment to visit the LaPorte Workforce Development center.
“We moved to a new building and we're right in downtown La Porte right by the courthouse, and yes, people can come into the office. We're located upstairs but we've got a front door downstairs that is open and people can come in," said Nelson
Before becoming the Workforce Development Coordinator at La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership (LEAP), Erik Nelson had an impressive background in sports management and business. Nelson attended North Central College and worked closely with the Chicago Bears and the University of Notre Dame, where he was employed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic, unfortunately, changed things for a lot of people including Nelson, who ended up being furloughed and lost his position altogether.
When looking for a new career, Nelson knew he wanted to make an impact on both himself and the community around him. This led him to his position at LEAP, which he started in September of this year.
“As a Workforce Development Coordinator, I am strictly focused on the youth workforce, such as high school graduates that don't necessarily have plans for after graduating high school. Maybe they don't want to go to college or go to any sort of secondary training and they're going right to the workforce. I'm the middleman between some of the local high schools and our employers in the Greater La Porte area,” said Nelson.
With about three months under his belt, Nelson has visited five local schools to empower, encourage, and educate the youth on the importance of workforce development.
“I meet with the superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or counselors at the schools and sit down with students and ask them to bring a copy of their resume. To better assist them, I‘ll put together a short questionnaire, review their resume with them. I'll try to understand them better, start getting their gears turning while speaking with them about some of the positions I know that are available that they might be a good fit for.” Nelson said.
When Nelson isn't spending his free time with family and friends watching football and preparing for the upcoming holidays, he’s constantly thinking of ways to approach the youth and prepare them for their future endeavors.
“The scope of my position is strictly workforce development with a focus on the youth demographic, but I'm not going to turn away an adult who is seeking employment,” said Nelson. “I'm also developing relationships with the appropriate individuals, whether that's their guidance counselors or their teachers that are strictly involved in work-based learning programs, and I'm building relationships with them that way. On the flip side of that, I also go out and meet with local employers and build a relationship with them, whether it's their President or CEO or just their human resource personnel.”
“There have been a couple of instances where I've been able to get students part-time opportunities that will give them more work experience,” Nelson continued. “I think back to the first student I placed in a position. We met with the management and took a tour of the facility. The student was able to actually work for half a day that day, while he was completing another program. Although I noticed he was nervous when we first got there, by the end of it, I think he had gotten a little more comfortable and I could see a smile on his face. It was just a rewarding experience. It's just cool to be able to make an impact like that and in the community that I was born and raised in.”
Nelson encourages everyone who is seeking employment to visit the LaPorte Workforce Development center.
“We moved to a new building and we're right in downtown La Porte right by the courthouse, and yes, people can come into the office,” said Nelson. “We're located upstairs but we've got a front door downstairs that is open and people can come in.”
To learn more about La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership, visit https://laportepartnership.com/.
