Connecting People to Jobs (CPTJ) is a workforce development initiative launched in the winter of 2001 by Acercamiento Hispano de Carolina del Sur, funded by a four-year grant awarded by the Mary R. Babcock and Annie E. Casey Foundations. CPTJ aims to move low-income Hispanic/Latino Midlands residents out of poverty and into living wage jobs (with potential for career advancement) by connecting them with job training, education, and support services.

The founding Vision Statement for this initiative was: “All Hispanics who want to work in the Midlands of South Carolina have the opportunity to be productive, fully participating citizens; contributing to the economy and to their community.”

The founding Mission Statement for this initiative was: “ To create and sustain a collaborative partnership that will develop viable opportunities for unemployed and underemployed Hispanics to obtain, maintain, and be upwardly mobile in livable wage jobs.”

CPTJ actively seeks collaborative partnerships with local contractors who are willing to employ these Hispanic workers and learning institutions helping to develop our program participants. As part of this joined effort, CPTJ will assist job seekers identify available learning opportunities in such areas as GED completion, English language and job skills development. CPTJ will work with contractors to help identify program participants with the necessary skills to meet their needs and will also provide job readiness skills development as a value-added component to our employer partners.

We maintain an office at the Columbia One Stop Center with headquarters located at the Acercamiento Hispano de Carolina del Sur main office. Our Intake Coordinator/Community Liaison, housed at the One Stop Center, assists our participants with their job seeking efforts and developmental action planning.