Job Corps and career services report adds 146 clients, $230,000 in scholarships; council highlights reentry success

Hunter Palmer, reporting for vocational programs and filling in for Executive Director Diane Kelly, told the Cherokee Nation council that Career Readiness added 146 new clients in March and that the program awarded more than $230,000 in vocational scholarships to help students attend career and technical training.

Palmer highlighted the program’s building-trades and business-technology graduation and credited a partnership with the Cherokee Nation Housing Authority for persistent hiring of program graduates. "One of the big highlights...we awarded over $230,000 in vocational scholarships," Palmer said, adding that a reentry participant, Johnny Jumper Jr., completed training and gained full-time employment with the Cherokee Nation Housing Authority.

Palmer also said the Talking Leaves Job Corps attended an annual Job Corps Day at the state capitol and reported continued successful placements particularly within the Cherokee Nation. He said the Career Readiness program continues to meet local demand for administrative, construction and maintenance workers.

A councilor asked for a date for the surgical-tech graduation; Palmer said he would follow up with the date to the council.

The chair praised the vocational report and said the outcome was evidence that Cherokee Nation programs are "a hand up, not a handout." The council did not take policy action on the report; staff will provide follow-up dates and additional detail to the clerk.