WATERLOO -- Charise Cooper's story likely isn't much different from any other 24-year-old who, without much experience and little direction, sprints headlong into a career dead end.

"I was pretty much at a dead heap," Cooper said.

Cooper's story is a classic before-and-after tale.

The "before" chapter is her life that preceded training at Cedar Valley Career Ladders, an initiative designed to increase skills and career mobility of low-income individuals.

The program partners with employers who seek qualified workers and social service agencies who prepare workers for employment.

"Participating workers receive special training opportunities to improve their hard and soft job skills and specialized case management to guide them through their employment barriers," said Morgan Wortham, executive director of the Highway 63 Gateway Community Development Corp. in Waterloo, a sister organization of Career Ladders. "Various Cedar Valley employers have committed to working with program participants who have gained the necessary skills to move up the ladder."

The program is designed to be "an economic engine project" that aims to help low-income individuals accumulate work experience that enables them to climb from entry-level scale to a living wage, Wortham added.

Cooper entered Career Ladders in July. Before she finished in September, she'd learn how to become better-organized, sharpen her job-interview skills and put together a compelling resume.

The work paid off when Cooper landed a position at Operation Threshold, processing energy-assistance applications.

"I think it is very valuable," Cooper said. "It actually helped me get the job I have at Operation Threshold. I think it helped with just knowing certain people and being able to critique myself on the interview process as well as resumes in order to further myself."

Career Ladders didn't necessarily teach Cooper anything new, she said; rather, it helped her make better use of the knowledge and skill sets she already had.

"I feel I use more of what I learned in school and I'm able to use what I know and forward that information along," she said.

Sheila Ambrose, a mentor with Career Ladders, has watched Cooper's progress.

"She's coming along very good; she picked it up real easily," Ambrose said of Cooper. "She's doing an excellent job."

Career Ladders was a pilot program of Opportunity Work, a six-county -- Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Grundy and Tama -- initiative to reduce poverty, Wortham said.

The program was launched in 2006 with seed money from the Northwest Area Foundation in St. Paul, Minn., which continues to be a major source of funding for the program's yearly budget of about $75,000. Some funding comes from a federal grant to the Highway 63 Gateway Community Development Corp.

"It's based on a concept of career pathways, where people can acquire job skills while they were moving up through a succession of jobs," Wortham said.

Working with numerous partners in the public and private sectors, including Iowa Workforce Development, the state's Family Development & Self-Sufficiency program, Operation Threshold, Hy-Vee, Veridian Credit Union, Principal, GMAC, John Deere and others, Career Ladders participants can find an entry-level position and move up, she said.

"You can become a cashier or customer-service person through Hy-Vee and transfer those skills to be a teller at Veridian," Wortham added.

Career Ladders also contracts with a business liaison, Denita Gadson, a program manager for Iowans for Social & Economic Development (ISED) Ventures, a statewide nonprofit organization based in Des Moines. Gadson's role involves recruiting businesses to participate in the program.

"Simultaneously, we have career mentors working on barriers to employment, skills they might need and what career path they're interested in," Wortham said.

There are about 65 participants in Career Ladders at present, she said.

"But, because it's a new initiative, we've had individuals enrolled for a little over a year," she said. "It took a while to put together a structure and process."

The program has helped nearly 40 participants find full-time employment.

"Most are still in first-tier jobs, as we call them," Wortham said. "Many are employed at McDonald's or Popeye's or other partners we have, and we have a handful who have moved to more advanced jobs. A few are working at John Deere, which is one of our partners."

The program is always looking to increase its roster of partners in the local business community, she said.

"We're working with (the Central Region of) Iowa Workforce Development, and they have a career pathways sector."

Workforce Development provides some job training, and the Waterloo Public Library provides computer access to participants.

"We get people oriented to career ladders, focused on money management, resume writing, some of what we call "soft skills," like human relations at work," Wortham said.

Training is another focus of the Career Ladders program, she noted.

"We have a lot of individuals who could utilize short-term training to get them into a job," Wortham said. "Employers say if they can get basic training, they can train them on the job."

The program also is working with Hawkeye Community College to develop some training courses.

"They did a mechanical and welding short-term course last year, and we're looking to expand those," Wortham said.

Career Ladders is working to come to terms with another potential problem, she said.

"The other barrier we have is a large percentage of people looking to get involved have a criminal background and that's a huge barrier to employers," she said. "We're trying to figure out a solution. We've been working with Department of Corrections on an ex-offender collaboration."

There are some incentives for employers, including a federal bonding program, Worth noted.

"It's not highly utilized, but you can essentially get an individual bonded and insured, and the federal government pays for that for six months," Wortham said. "Then, the employer can extend that bond after six months if they want to."

Another option for employers is the Federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

"That's for hiring individuals that had been on welfare or had disabilities," Wortham said.

There are no income thresholds to keep out participants; all that is needed is a desire to succeed, Wortham said.

The program is seeing plenty of that, she added.

Lynet Adams is another success story. Since July, Adams has been a certified nurse's aide at Cedar Falls Lutheran Home for the Aged.

That's the "after" part of her story. Adams also went through Career Ladders.

"They let me know what jobs were hiring, which was helpful," Adams said. "They paid for me to go through CNA classes. Career Ladders put me through a couple of programs, and I found those classes very helpful."

Some of those programs focused on handling money and building and keeping a good credit background.

"It was a good move," Adams said.

And, she said, she may not be finished with Career Ladders.

"They're talking about trying to get a program for LPNs, too," Adams said. "If they ever do, I'll go through that. I'm very pleased with it. The way they're talking about doing more things is good for the community."

Cooper said Career Ladders can change lives.

"I'd say anybody that is willing to do the work and needs the help should go for it," Cooper said. "I think it's a very good and worthwhile program."

Contact Jim Offner at (319) 291-1598 or jim.offner@wcfcourier.com.