They're hired, already

Recent Goodwill class graduates get to put new job skills to work

(Matthew J. Lee / Globe Staff) Evans Ampofo started work as a cook at the South Bay Center Stop & Shop shortly after graduating from the Let's Talk Shop course.

They are the lucky 13.

In today's shrinking job market, a single mother, a former high school track athlete, and the 11 other members of a new Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries job-training class pulled off a minor miracle: They all found work.

One of them, Ruth Lopez, 32, left her job as a cook at a local nonprofit nearly two months ago hoping to find something better. Instead, Lopez was waylaid by the economy. The single mom found herself out of a job, and has been depending on welfare checks to provide for her 2 1/2-year-old son.

"I didn't want to stay home, doing nothing, watching TV," Lopez said.

This week, she starts a part-time job as a bagger at the Grove Hall Stop & Shop supermarket in Boston, earning about $8.50 an hour - enough to help pay bills and buy groceries, she said.

"I want to work at Stop & Shop. You can grow there," Lopez said. Eventually, she hopes to increase her earnings potential by training as a nurse or learning to work with the elderly.

All 13 participants in Goodwill's Let's Talk Shop class last month found part-time positions at Stop & Shop, which has long teamed up with the nonprofit.

Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries started in 1895 in Boston. It has now grown into Goodwill Industries International, a nonprofit well-known for its thrift stores. Like its parent organization, Morgan Memorial offers a variety of programs aimed at helping people find a place in the workforce.

The two-week Let's Talk Shop class is part of the local Goodwill's First Step program, which grew out of a collaboration with TJX Cos. in the late 1990s to train people to work in the Fra mingham-based retail giant's stores, which include T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. Last year, Goodwill's job training, placement, and career-services programs served 8,111 people from Eastern and Central Massachusetts. About 1,700 found jobs.

But Goodwill officials said they don't ever remember an entire training class getting hired.

Evans Ampofo, 27, started his new job as a hot foods cook at the Stop & Shop at South Bay Center in Boston about two weeks ago.

"It is exactly the job I was actually looking for," said Ampofo, who said he spent more than two years searching for work but couldn't find any, in part, because of the economy.

For Jermaine Jolivain, his new part-time position as a bagger at the Dorchester Stop & Shop is an important personal milestone. Out of work for about a year, the 20-year-old managed to land three interviews in recent months, but could never seem to get past the first meeting with a potential employer.

"None of them went right," Jolivain said. For example, he said, during one interview he talked so fast he didn't hear what the interviewer was asking. Another time, he became flustered when the interviewer asked why he was a team player. "I told her I wasn't," Jolivain said.

That's when the former high school track athlete decided he could use some pointers on how to make a better impression. So he signed up for the Let's Talk Shop course.

So did a dozen other people, each seeking a job and a way to shore up their flagging confidence.

That's no easy task these days.

Nationally, the unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent last month - the highest it has been in 16 years. About 12 million Americans were out of work in January.

"The climate is challenging and more challenging," said Joanne K. Hilferty, Goodwill's chief executive. "So what we are seeing is more people coming in the door - particularly at our career center - looking for services and support, and more importantly, for a job."

As part of the January class, Jolivain, Lopez, and their peers were guaranteed an interview, though not necessarily a job, with Stop & Shop on graduation day. The supermarket chain employs many Goodwill graduates, including more than half a dozen at the South Bay Stop & Shop, said district manager Tom Marshall.

But before the interviews, students in the January class had to impress Goodwill instructor Margaret Decker - a woman some jokingly call "The Enforcer." Her teaching methods include having students role play interviews and work through potential conflicts with pretend co-workers and bosses. All the while, Decker emphasizes appropriate work attire, timeliness, and showing respect.

"One of my favorite days of coming to class was the day we learned about confidence," Jolivain said. That day, Decker posted a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." That lesson stuck with him as he prepared for his interview with a Stop & Shop manager.

"When you go into an interview confident, the person can see your energy," Jolivain said.

Lopez, the toddler's mom, said she built confidence by focusing on a new professional image. She straightened her hair and carefully chose an interview outfit - new black slacks and a nice shirt.

"I knew I was ready," Lopez said. Still, she was nervous during the interview - her first sit-down with a potential employer. During their talk, Lopez said, she tried to stress that she knows how to work hard and be on time. It proved a successful strategy.

"If you want to keep a job, you've got to be responsible," she said.

Erin Ailworth can be reached at eailworth@globe.com.