February 26, 2020
Joining the workforce
Around Town Rock legends Styx and country star Dylan Scott to headline O’Fallon’s 2020 Heritage & Freedom Fest. Pg. 3 St. Charles County’s interactive expo highlights public services, programs. Pg. 3
St. Charles Optimist Club recognizes elementary school spelling bee winners. Pg. 5
Features
The first class of BCI Skills Center graduates with True Manufacturing company representatives.
Submitted photo
The BCI Skills Center is a first-of-its-kind vocational training facility for those with disabilities that partners them with local businesses By Brett Auten There is an innate satisfaction that comes with completing a job well done. Since 1959, St. Peters’ Boone Center Inc., has been enriching the lives of adults with disabilities by providing a wide selection of employment opportunities. Most recently, the nonprofit’s vocational training facility, aka the BCI Skills Center, celebrated its first anniversary. The BCI Skills Center is a first-of-its-kind facility for those with disabilities that partners them with local businesses to create custom programs. Founded in January of 2019, the BCI Skills Center currently has three vocation-
al programs that includes salesforce, manufacturing and hospitality housekeeping. The center works with local businesses to design custom programs and, upon graduation, students move directly into the workforce where they earn a competitive wage. Eight classes are currently in progress or completed with a total of 12 graduates to date. Randy Pritchett, 29-years-old of Wentzville, is one of those graduates. Pritchett now does welding, among other responsibilities, at O’Fallon’s True Manufacturing. “During my time at BCI, I learned a whole lot, specifically, about True Manufacturing,” Pritchett said. “Now, not only do
I have my work responsibilities, but I also help train new employees.” The Skills Center is a completely new and unique model that took years of planning and preparation. By partnering with local companies who agreed that people with disabilities can contribute meaningfully to their businesses, BCI is helping lead the charge in its “inclusion revolution” while helping local companies fill their employment needs. “What we’ve experienced with the BCI Skills Center graduates so far – the care, the want-to, the concern – it’s obvious with them,” Steve Young of True Manufacturing,
Recipe, Movie & Sudoku. Pg. F-1 CLASSIFIEDS AND HOME & GARDEN. Pg. F-2 /F-3 Moore On Life, Yeggs & Crossword. Pg. F-4
Weather FRIDAY Sunny 37/23 SATURDAY Sunny 42/26 SUNDAY Sunny 51/39 FirstWarn Weather
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