TIM STEVENS AT THE PODIUM, DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE, JAN. 22. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)
The phrase, “Do you know anybody that’s hiring?” is a phrase you hear people saying all the time in the Pittsburgh region.
Tim Stevens, Chairman and CEO of the Black Political Empowerment Project, is leading an effort to answer that question very succinctly.
The answer is, “Yes.”
And he encourages African Americans in the region to go to www.b-pep.net/jobs as the new, centralized spot to find open jobs in the area. Stevens made the announcement at a press conference in the Hill District, Jan. 22.
What makes the website unique is, many of the job opportunities are with local entities that have partnered with B-PEP specifically for the purpose of finding eligible African American candidates. Companies like Highmark, UPMC, PA Career Link, CCAC, Vibrant Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, City of Pittsburgh, and more.
ROY BLANKENSHIP, B-PEP COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
“Our hope is that this site will be the go-to site for African Americans seeking job and/or training opportunities in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and beyond. B-PEP and CEIR (Corporate Equity and Inclusion Roundtable) are making it simple,” Stevens said at the press conference. “You’re just a click away from opportunities from every level to executive level.”
Stevens said that other partners like the Trade Institute of Pittsburgh and Bidwell Training Center are in place to give people the necessary training needed in order to attain certain jobs.
“All businesses and employers” are encouraged to “become part of this new initiative,” said B-PEP’s Website Coordinator, Tyler Dague. “This is just the start.”
B-PEP Community Organizer Roy Blankenship said at the press conference that “families are suffering, and prices are going up,” and that “a family that’s able to earn a better living wage is a family that’s more empowered to sustain itself.”
“This is a new year, this is a new project that we’re finally ready to launch,” Stevens said. “We hope people will use it, get employed or get trained, and also that the violence will subside within our community, because more of our folks are working and being promoted, and employed from a consistent, sustained level.”
TYLER DAGUE, WEBSITE COORDINATOR FOR B-PEP.
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