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Premier Medicine Urgent Care is a private medical center that provided urgent care medical treatment. The Michigan Works! Dearborn Service Center Business Services Representative (BSR) approached them to discuss employment opportunities for PATH clients. An initial meeting was scheduled with the business owner, Dr. Nabil Suliman. Dr. Suliman was introduced to the concept of Michigan Works! and the services that we offered to employers.

Dr. Suliman conveyed the message that he had been unable to recruit qualified bilingual candidates to meet his needs. He was looking to hire bilingual medical assistants and clerical staff. His challenge was an inability to find not only bilingual candidates, but also trained professionals in the field with appropriate credentials and work ethics. He felt this inability to hire the right candidates was causing a high turnover rate for his practice. His immediate need was to hire bilingual staff to serve a diverse community of clients from Arabic and Hispanic backgrounds.

The Michigan Works! BSR conducted several meetings with the employer and explained the process of On The Job (OJT) placement. The BSR also provided technical assistance to conduct an assessment of needs, identify appropriate candidates and complete the necessary paperwork. Our BSR nominated and screened six candidates and employer selected three for hire. Three Michigan Works! clients received soft skills training and English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction as needed at ACCESS prior to OJT placement. Following the completion of OJT training, the employer retained one candidate for permanent hire. Ayda Haddad was hired as a full-time Medical Clerk starting at $12.00 an hour with full fringe benefits.

Ayda Haddad was a dislocated worker, having been laid off from his job in manufacturing as a Quality Inspector. Haddad qualified for the WIOA program and was enrolled in classroom training for “Microsoft Office Professional.” Through the OJT program, Haddad was able to be paid for his time while being trained by Premier Medicine to work in their office.

The employer was so pleased with the quality of services from Michigan Works! that he decided to continuously utilize our services for his staffing needs. On October 5, 2015 a WIA youth client was also placed as a medical clerk in the Livonia office for a Paid Work Experience (PWE) opportunity.

Premier Medicine was very cooperative and was also willing to train clients referred by Michigan Works!. Dr. Suliman paid individualized attention and provided a safe, professional and meaningful work opportunity for all three clients placed. He also encouraged OJT participants to be trained in different areas within the field which enhanced confidence, self esteem and teamwork among OJT participants.