St. Paul, MN—Assistant Minority Leader, State Representative Jon Koznick, R-Lakeville, attended a graduation ceremony and tour at Avivo's Institute of Career and Technical Education last week. Avivo is a non-profit organization that serves individuals in the Twin Cities through recovery, employment, and career advancement services. Koznick was a co-author of legislation that provided job skills training and funding towards the Displaced Homemakers Program.
Displaced homemakers are individuals who have been at home, caring for family and have been dependent on someone else or public assistance as the primary source of income, but have lost that source of income through death, disability, abandonment, divorce, or loss of public assistance.
Services include support for family stabilization, homelessness intervention and prevention, essential skills training, college academic advising for career development, and assistance with gaining employment.
“It is incredibly exciting to see the results and know the impact of legislation I have helped pass. It was an honor to attend the graduation ceremony and to hear directly from graduates about how Avivo has helped prepare them for future career opportunities,” said Koznick.
“To know that we could be helping a recently divorced, middle-aged mother out of an abusive relationship, get back on her own and re-established in the workforce is very rewarding. We can all imagine the challenges people face in similar situations. This bill could help a mother that may have a college degree but needs additional technical skills to get ready to be self-sufficient and soon working to provide for her and her children. Our economy is in desperate need of employees and this legislation is working to meet those job needs. The Displaced Workers bill was both compassionate and makes sense economically.”
Graduates are now proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Access, Excel, and PowerPoint), advanced customer service, effective communication, job-seeking skills, and individualized job search, building business relationships, and writing cover letters and resumes.
Koznick has authored and co-authored numerous bills related to workforce development and job training including House File 1012 which allocated funding for displaced homemaker programs.
“I have long been a supporter of legislation to help Minnesotans improve employment opportunities through skills development and career re-training, especially for displaced home workers. Minnesota has long had a reputation for its highly skilled workforce thanks to organizations like Avivo.”
Other legislation Koznick has authored or signed onto law include providing workforce training for new American immigrants, youth skills training, access to STEM training, and providing individuals in poverty with basic education and job skills training including placement in qualifying employment opportunities.
Rep. Koznick is pictured here with someone who qualified to participate in the displaced homemaker program.
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Rep. Koznick is an assistant minority leader and is currently serving his third term in the Minnesota House of Representatives representing Lakeville. Rep. Koznick lives in Lakeville with his wife and two daughters. He serves on the Jobs and Economic Development Finance Committee, the Subcommittee on Local Government and the Transportation Finance and Policy Committee.
For more information about Rep. Koznick, visit his official House member page.