Lilia Aguirre had been working in a manufacturing job at Wrigley’s in Oakwood. This position was very labor-intensive and lacked favorable long-term career prospects.

Lilia needed a better job to help support her family. She had moved in with her son and daughter-in-law to help with her new grandson. As she investigated a new career path, she focused on the opportunities available in forklift. A friend told her about Goodwill’s programs, so she visited the Oakwood Career Center and met with Case Manager Alex Balla.

In working with Alex, Lilia was delighted to learn that the costs of the forklift training program would be covered by the DOL-WORC grant. Lilia enrolled in the program in mid-May and participated actively in the job readiness training classes. She earned her CPR/First Aid certification and went on to pass the OSHA certification exam as well. By the end of May, Lilia began the hands-on forklift training at Lanier Technical College and successfully completed that portion of the program.

After graduation, Lilia began her job search and contacted some former colleagues at Wrigley’s. Now that she had a forklift certification, she was able to secure a better position with the company. She’s enthusiastic about her new role and is looking forward to the next steps in her career journey.