Express Employment Professionals is putting job seekers to work through its fourth annual mass interviewing event, now expanded from one day to a full week, Aug. 2-6, 2021.

Formerly called National Interview Day, the event was first created by the staffing company and celebrated in 2018 as a new way to recruit and educate job seekers in a historically tight labor market. With temporary business closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic adding to talent shortages across the country since last year, Express is stepping up, now more than ever, to provide hope through employment for this expanded hiring event. 
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Job seekers are encouraged to visit ExpressPros.com/HiringEvent before Aug. 2 and complete an application to expedite the interview process. Applicants will then be contacted for interviews, possibly before Aug. 2, based on the type of work they are seeking, and as always with Express, will never be charged a fee.  

​The August/September issue of Bloom Magazine features two big IU stories: 50 Famous Alumni, and interviews with coaches Tom Allen, Mike Woodson, and Teri Moren about the Great Expectations for their upcoming seasons! Look for it all around town starting August 3.
 
Also new: Bloom now has a bi-weekly newsletter with story snippets, links to web exclusives, and sneak peeks behind the scenes at the magazine. Sign up at magbloom.com!

The U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Capital Access will host a small business webinar series with Public Private Strategies Institute on the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. The program was designed to help hard-hit small businesses and nonprofits recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic by providing advances and low-interest disaster loans. 

• Tuesday, July 27, 10:00 a.m. EDT, Click here to register.
• Tuesday, July 27, 1:00 p.m. EDT, Click here to register.
• Tuesday, July 27, 6:00 p.m. EDT, Click here to register.
• Wednesday, July 28, 12:00 p.m.  EDT, Click here to register.
• Wednesday, July 28, 6:00 p.m. EDT, Click here to register.
• Monday, August 2, 12:00 p.m. EDT, Click here to register.
• Monday, August  2, 6:00 p.m. EDT, Click here to register.  

Note: The information presented in each webinar will be the same. Select webinars will also be simulcasted on SBA's and PPSI's Facebook pages.

​Regional Opportunity Initiatives (ROI) has selected the first cohort of its Career Coaching Fellowship. Nineteen individuals serving across the Indiana Uplands as school counselors, career coaches, work-based and internship coordinators, teachers, adult educators, and an HR administrator have been selected. The ROI Career Coaching Fellows will begin a 10-month fellowship focused on growing leadership and expertise while developing regionally relevant career connections that will equip Fellows to provide guidance and support to individuals preparing for high opportunity and high wage jobs.
 
“The Career Coaching Fellowship was developed as the next essential step in a maturing strategy for supporting both individuals and industry through focused talent pathways and workforce pipeline strategies,” said ROI President & CEO, Tina Peterson.
 
“Response to this opportunity exceeded our expectations and serves to affirm the significance of focused career coaching strategies,” added Peterson. “ROI’s inaugural cohort represents an impressive group of educators and career development professionals within our region. We are pleased that participants will bring diversity of experience to the cohort and feel confident that this   group of professionals will grow their capacity to positively impact thousands of K-12 students and adult learners in the Indiana Uplands region.”

​Regional Opportunity Initiatives (ROI) has announced that its new Grant Writing Fellowship program is launching in July with 19 community and regional leaders selected from a competitive application process.
 
“It was clear from the quality of applications we received that people in the Indiana Uplands are eager for this type of fellowship program,” said Lisa Abbott, ROI Vice President of Economic and Community Development. “We are thrilled to welcome this talented group and look forward to the different perspectives they will bring as we work collectively to enhance grant writing skills and positively impact lives in the Indiana Uplands.”
 
In the 10-month program, participants will learn to effectively develop compelling grant applications by gathering data, developing budgets, and finding funding opportunities. In addition, fellows will receive professional development on a variety of related topics and form a network of fellow grant writers. Upon completing the program, fellows will each receive $1,000 stipends, plus up to $1,000 in matching dollars for successful grant applications fellows submit and win using their new skills.

​ROI is pleased to announce the selection of its fifth cohort of STEM Fellows. The 17 K-6 educators chosen will begin their fellowship year in August 2021, bringing the total number to 97 Fellows working to advance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities in Indiana Uplands classrooms and schools.
 
“Early interventions in STEM learning are crucial to keeping students engaged in these fields through middle school and beyond,” said ROI Vice President of Talent Development Michi McClaine. “In the Indiana Uplands, there are abundant career opportunities in STEM fields, and our regional employers need a workforce ready to excel in technology-enabled environments, in engineering-related fields, and in the sciences. ROI’s STEM Fellows expose our region’s youngest learners to STEM exploration and regionally relevant career pathways that they can pursue beginning in elementary school and into postsecondary education and careers. Not only does this program benefit educators, students, and school districts, it also benefits our communities as we seek to grow our workforce and high opportunity industries in the Indiana Uplands.”