Rep. France Congratulates Platform to Employment's Third Graduating Cohort

HARTFORD – On March 25th State Rep. Mike France (R-42) spoke before a group of students from Platform to Employment at the Capitol to commemorate their graduation.

Initiated in 2011, Platform to Employment (P2E) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to help the long-term unemployed return to work with the skills Connecticut employers are seeking. P2E students have exhausted their unemployment benefits and, in Connecticut, they have been unemployed for as long as eight months to four years. Approximately half of the P2E students are over 50 years of age and have earned a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Initially privately funded, P2E received state funding in Fiscal Year 2014, after successful demonstration of the program both in Connecticut and across the country, to expand its services statewide. It now offers classes in Bridgeport, Waterbury, New Haven, Hartford and the Norwich/New London area with participants from over 80 communities across the state.

“I was honored to participate in the graduation ceremony to acknowledge these students’ achievements and send them my best wishes as they take the next step in their career,” said Rep. France. “As we continue to review proposals for the biennial budget, I hope we can keep funding for programs like these intact, because they work. As of today, approximately 83% of students who graduated in October 2014 and January 2015 are employed full time. In addition, nearly 40% of March 2015 graduates are already employed. Long-term unemployment continues to be a problem in Connecticut. We must keep providing resources to sustain these successful initiatives, as well as ease the burden on employers and employees alike.”

To learn more about the P2E program, please visit their website at http://www.platformtoemployment.com/.