LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A growing partnership between state agencies is connecting college students directly with employers across Nevada.
Sebastien Leonard moved to Las Vegas 3 years ago and struggled to find steady work, filling out hundreds of job applications without success.
"Had a hard time being able to commit to school because of life circumstances," Leonard said.
WATCH | Finding a job in Nevada: How a chance encounter changed one Las Vegas man's life
A chance encounter at a local park connected him with a career coach from Employ NV, which led him to a workforce development program. Through the program, Leonard earned his high school diploma and recently started working as a dialysis tech at DaVita.
"A lot of it is talking to patients and assisting the nurses and the PCTs there with the tasks that they're doing, and, uh, such as cleaning and setting up the machines and, um, just observing and taking in information," Leonard said.
Leonard's story highlights a growing partnership between the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation and the Nevada System of Higher Education.
"This is just a great partnership that we've had with Dieter across a number of different initiatives, one being the employee and the career coaches embedded within the institutions. That's just an on the ground example of exactly what we are looking to spotlight during National Workforce Development Month is, you know, this ongoing work that we do year round, but really showcasing how our students are directly connected to the jobs that are available within the state of Nevada, how they tie to our training opportunities with our institutions, and make that process as easy as possible for them to navigate," a spokesperson said.
The partnership places career coaches directly on college campuses, where students can get career guidance and meet employers without leaving school.
"The partnership with the embedded employee and be career coaches makes a huge difference so that students can access that career guidance, training resources, job opportunities, and even make connections with employers," the spokesperson said.
Leonard plans to continue his education, studying psychology to become a therapist for children. State education leaders say the goal is to keep trained workers in Nevada.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
