Christopher & Jeffrey moving lumber at Lowes

Old Dominion Job Corps Students Perform Work Base Learning at Lowes and Transfer to Jobs at Lowes in their Home Town 

The students were Lowes employees and were paid while on Work Base

 By Jeanne Vaughan, Business Community Liaison at Old Dominion Job Corps Center 

In December 2010, Mr. Richard Benoit, Work Base Learning Specialist at Old Dominion Job Corps, negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding with two Lowes stores in the Lynchburg, Virginia area.  The Human Resource Managers at the Madison Heights and Timberlake stores were very interested in partnering with Job Corps to hire individuals at their stores who had some experience and training in the various departments in Lowes stores.  The Home Builders Institute trades at ODJCC provided the experience and training for our students that Lowes was looking for in an employee. 

It was agreed that our students who were eligible for Work Base Learning would complete the Lowes application and assessment process and if they met the criteria, they would be interviewed and if hired, entered into Lowes WE program as Lowes employees.  The WE Team is composed of employees who work on weekends as Part-Time Facility Service Associates.  This position allows the employee to work in various departments where needed. 

The plan included the distinct possibility of transferring the students to Lowes stores in their home towns upon completion of their Job Corps program.  Of course, there would have to be an opening in the store in their home town.  The other component of this transfer would be that the students had proved themselves and would receive a recommendation from the management at the Lowes store where they had been employed while a Job Corps student. 

ODJCC’s students were anxious to complete applications and assessments for Lowes when they were made aware of this opportunity.  Two carpentry students were identified for interviews in early February 2011 and were hired for the WE Team.  The students were Christopher G. and Jeffrey B., both of whom were from Richmond, Virginia.  The students started their employment in March 2011 and worked on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  They continued to work as paid Work Base students until they separated from Center.  They transferred to Lowes locations in Richmond, Virginia – Chris G. at the Lowes on West Koger Center Boulevard as a Sales Assistant and Jeffrey B. at the Lowes at 1640 Broad Street as Stock Clerk and Sales Assistant.  

While the two students were working at the Lowes store here in Lynchburg, we received excellent reports on their work and behaviors.  They were commended for their willingness to learn, their professionalism and friendliness.  The Floor Manager at the Lowes Timberlake store, Mr. Neil Prager, when asked how Chris G. and Jeffrey B. did as members of the WE program, stated “They were both just great.  They were always kind and friendly to customers, and they would do anything I asked them to do.  I was disappointed when they transferred from my store because they were so eager to help and to learn.  It’s tough to get great people like that.”

This partnership with Lowes stores in the Lynchburg area is a real asset for our students and our Center.  The students who were hired by Lowes paved the way for other Job Corps students to have career opportunities with Lowes while at ODJCC as well as continuing to work for this premiere Company when they return to their home towns. 

Old Dominion Job Corps students are fortunate to have an excellent Work Base Learning Specialist in Mr Richard Benoit. Mr. Benoit works hard to arrange Work Base sites for our students to enhance their skills and gain experience in the real world of work.  The Lowes site is exceptional in that it offers continued employment to those who prove themselves when they return home.

Jeffrey assists a Lowes customer

Christopher working in Lowes Garden Center