Meet Angel Stancer, our senior manager of business experience! Angel has been with the Workforce Partnership for seven years supporting San Diegans by helping businesses with recruitment, accessing training funds and much more. This month, we asked Angel about her work, a moment she’s proud of and how she would allocate a donation.
What Workforce Partnership resource do you think more people should utilize?
I think more businesses should utilize our rapid response services. When a business faces the possibility of staff reduction, they can consult our team to co-invest in layoff aversion strategies. For example, we might subsidize trainings to upskill and retain at-risk workers or fund buyout feasibility studies. The solutions are highly customizable, but the approach needs to be proactive. When downsizing is inevitable, we also connect affected workers with employment and training programs to help facilitate rapid reemployment and minimize the impact on families.
If you had $30,000 to donate to a workforce development program, what would you want done with it?
I would invest in a business accelerator program that benefits BIPOC and women business owners who have historically had limited access to financing for their business. As a component of that programming, I’d integrate support for marketing and technology services fueled by TechHire and youth interns who need work experience for the next step in their career.
What do you like best about working in workforce development?
I enjoy serving San Diego’s small business community by helping them access resources they need to thrive. Small, local businesses are the backbone of our economy! It’s a pleasure to learn about an employer’s workforce pain points and then coinvest in customized solutions. On the flip side, I take great pride in extending my network to job seekers in our community who might not otherwise have access. I was a first generation college graduate who had to work multiple jobs instead of taking internships and I was ill equipped with a professional network when it came time to start my career. That set me back, and I learned the ropes of workforce the hard way. I’m proud to be where I am today, and to help others on their career journey.