The LOFT (Latinos on Fast Track) initiative was created by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation in partnership with the Hispanic College Fund (HCF) to systematically develop productive and sustainable relationships between top Hispanic young professionals and America's workforce. In light of a recent Dept. of Labor finding which states that over the next 15 years more than two-thirds of the overall workforce growth in America will be Latino but less than one percent of that growth will be in management - the need for LOFT is great. Through creative partnerships with the private and public sectors, LOFT not only identifies ideal candidates for a specific job or internship from its prodigious pool of talented past Youth Awards and HCF alumni (more than 20,000), but, moreover, develops industry-specific training programs to prepare the candidates for immediate impact and a high level of performance in the workforce. Specially-tailored programs have been developed to support Fannie Mae's efforts to diversify the mortgage lending industry through their American Dream Team; Goldman Sachs in the private banking industry; Allianz Life in their industry; and the Home Builders Institute's Team Builders campaign through a partnership with Beazer Homes, among others. By focusing on building sustainable relationships and not list serves, LOFT also works closely with the sponsor and candidated to address cultural nuances, develop a clear path to management with a mentoring component, and make both parties feel invested and increase retention. The purpose of LOFT is to put these young leaders in a position from which to lead beyond graduation and into their professional lives. The LOFT candidate's ages range from 18-27 with a new crop of candidates being enrolled each year fed through the Youth Awards and HCF scholarship programs. Every single one of the candidates has undergone a rigorous selection process by an influential group of community leaders across the country and the LOFT staff staff works directly as a facilitator between the candidated and employers to ensure a good corporate-culture fit in addition to other more tangible qualifications. The LOFT manager also works with the sponsor to ensure a fast track development plan is in place to make the candidate feel invested and therefore create retention. Sponsors have already seen immediate results in their quest to diversiy the workforce and industry. The breakdown of the LOFT candidates' area of focus is: 22% engineering, computer, math, technology; 30% sciences, physical or social; 26% business, management, economics, finance, accounting; and 22% communications, public policy and other. As an extension of the LOFT initiative, HHF will work with the candidates and employers to conduct specially-tailored LOFT Professional Development program and seminars to create a clearer path for leadership, retention, and productivity. The LOFT Professional Development program, which can be applied to any Latino staff whether they were LOFT canidadtes or not, works as a facilitator between the employer and employees to develop a systematic approach creating opportunities for advancement and ensure a more effective diverse workforce with measurable results. |
