“Honestly, I’ve been wanting to work for the Urban League for a long time,” says Wayne Strong, the new director of workforce development at Urban League of Greater Madison, “and it’s mainly because I believe in the mission of what the Urban League does – employing people, educating people, and empowering people. Those are the things that are very important to me.”
Strong started his new position this week and is just settling into his job with a very familiar organization on a very familiar side of town. Strong has spent decades working on Madison’s south side not only as a police officer and a lieutenant but also as a coach and co-director of the Southside Raiders.
“Having more than 27 years of law enforcement experience, a lot of what I saw with people ending up in the criminal justice system had to do with issues related to employment or lack of employment,” says Strong, who is also an adjunct instructor and Chair of the Criminal Justice Department at Globe University. “If we can help people along the path of getting them educated and employed and jobs and wages to support their families, that’s really what we’re all about and that’s what we should be about as a society – helping those who really need help get on their feet so they can have a successful path in life.”
The Urban League is one of greater Madison’s largest community-based providers of career development training and job placement assistance for unemployed and underemployed adults. “There are a lot of employers out there looking to fill jobs but they don’t have the skilled laborers that they need so it’s a two-way street of us trying to help people get jobs and help employers to fill positions,” Strong tells Madison365. “Getting them the job training and employment training they need to fill those jobs is critical for our economy and it’s critical for the lives of our families.”
Among the workforce training programs he will be overseeing are those around health care, internet technology (IT), culinary skills, and construction, which is booming in Madison right now.
“Construction is a huge trade in our city and there are ample opportunities out there and we want to make sure that our members get the training they need to fill those positions,” Strong says.
Strong knows that there are people out there who really want to work and be able to support their families and he wants to make sure that they have every opportunity to do so.
“For me, the most important thing is making sure that we are helping people get the education that they need, getting them the job that they need, and empowering them to help their families,” Strong says. “I’m a community person; I believe in helping people. I think it’s important for us as a community that we are doing all we can to ensure that people are given opportunities that deserve them … people who really want to work and make a better life for themselves.”
