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Key Grants $82,000 to Vocational Guidance Services; Groundbreaking Program to Prepare People with Disabilities and Disadvantages for Retail Careers

Key Grants $82,000 to Vocational Guidance Services; Groundbreaking Program to Prepare People with Disabilities and Disadvantages for Retail Careers

Published 10-13-05

Submitted by KeyBank

CLEVELAND, October 13, 2005 - Key today presented an $82,000 Key Foundation grant to Vocational Guidance Services (VGS) of Cleveland, supporting the launch of the organization's groundbreaking new Retail Sales Training Program.

Focused on training people with disabilities and economic disadvantages for careers in retail sales, the eight-week program covers customer service, floor sales, loss prevention and safety, inventory, merchandising and computer literacy.

"The U.S. Department of Labor reports that job opportunities in retail sales will grow by 10 percent to 20 percent through 2012," says Robert E. Comben Jr., president and chief executive officer of VGS. "We know that over the last 10 years, many national retail chain companies have opened new stores throughout Greater Cleveland, and that trend is expected to continue."

Students will also practice their skills in a paid, three-week practical course instruction. VGS believes that the Retail Sales Training Program is the only one of its type being offered by a not-for-profit employment service in Northeast Ohio.

"This program will allow individuals with disadvantages to experience the kind of independence that comes with earning a wage, and the dignity of economic self-sufficiency," says Comben. "The skills they learn will help them advance their careers in retail or in other industries. Customer service, for example, is a skill in demand for many types of jobs in other industries."

Additionally, the program will provide trained candidates for Northeast Ohio retail employers, who are having difficulty attracting and retaining quality employees, Comben says.

VGS has two area retail businesses ready to provide internships. More are currently in the development stage. The program is expected to open in late October. It will begin training 12 students during its start up phase, with 10 graduates placed into full time permanent jobs. By the second year, VGS plans to have three times that amount of trainees referred to the program, with a goal of 24 placed in positions in the retail field.

Vocational Guidance Services
A not-for-profit agency, VGS provides vocational training, work experience, and job placement services for Northeast Ohio residents challenged by disabilities and/or economic disadvantages. Since 1890, VGS has been a national leader in the field of vocational rehabilitation. Today, VGS is one of the largest and most successful private, not-for-profit training agencies in the state of Ohio.

KeyCorp
Cleveland-based KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $91 billion. Key companies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally. Contact Key Foundation Senior Program Officer Quentin McCorvey at 216-689-5505, or Quentin_mccorvey@keybank.com, for more information about corporate grants.

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Note to Editors: For up-to-date company information, media contacts and facts and figures about Key lines of business, visit our Media Newsroom at Key.com/newsroom.

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KeyBank

KeyBank

KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $176.2 billion at March 31, 2021. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,100 branches and more than 1,400 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC. 

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