Karen Caldwell, Director of Workforce Development
Parent organization: Primavera Foundation
Staffing business began: 1997
Job seeker focus: Returning citizens, People experiencing homelessness, Veterans, Long-term unemployed
Range of candidates managed weekly: 20-47
Staffing services: Day labor, Temp, Temp-to-hire, Work crews
Industries served: Construction, Property management services
Priority goals in next year: To diversify the type of work we are able to offer. Most of our current jobs are in landscaping, construction, and janitorial. We want to offer more diverse types of jobs to meet our workers skills sets and abilities.
Biggest operating challenges: It’s tough competing with large, national labor suppliers, such as Labor Ready and Labor Express, who do extensive marketing, have locations all over town, and have greater transportation resources (for which workers pay a fee). Another challenge is the lack of many large companies in Tucson. We have few high-volume business prospects.
What about your business makes you most proud? I’m proud of our ability to satisfy the needs of both our customers and participants. We deliver quality services to our customers and provide needed supports to our workers.