Every year, the world is affected by tremendous natural disasters, ranging from the 2004 Asian tsunami to hurricanes, floods and earthquakes that rock the foundation of many people’s lives. Beyond the loss of life and property, these disasters also cause the destruction of many jobs and careers. In many cases, the primary wage earner may have been lost, of their former place of employment no longer exists. A job is never so important as when you have lost everything and need to start over.
Manpower’s philosophy for investing in our communities has always been focused on the long-term view. Rather than just donating money like so many other companies, we have determined that the best way we can help when disaster strikes is to create a path to sustainable employment that will enable survivors to feed their families and begin building toward a better tomorrow. Our disaster recovery initiatives include providing short-term jobs for individuals when their place of employment is damaged or destroyed so they can continue to support their families and replace essential property like clothing. In the most dire situations, we also help survivors to develop new career paths through skills assessment and training when it is no longer feasible for them to return to their former line of work.
Please select from the links below to read more about Manpower’s Disaster Recovery programs.
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China Earthquake Recovery
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Vocational Training Centers
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Working Your Way Back Home
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In Times of Natural Disaster
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Vocational Training Centers
In response to the December 2004 Asian tsunami, Manpower has developed two vocational training centers in Tamil Nadu, India, to help rebuild the lives of those most affected by the disaster. The aim is to sustain the initiative for the next 15 years, training at least 1,200 people each year. In addition to providing skills training, the program will develop at least 20 small businesses for women in the region.
Since the formal inauguration of the first center in October 2005, more than 1,200 people have enrolled in training courses, nearly half of which have already succeeded in finding employment. The second center has been operational since December 2005. |
VIRTUAL TOURS: Vocational Training Centers
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"Working Your Way Back Home"
As an established national business partner with the U.S. Department of Labor, Manpower and the local public workforce system have a history of working together toward the common goal of putting people to work. In response to the devastation following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Manpower utilized this strategic partnership to provide state of the art employment services that match dislocated workers from Mississippi with opportunities in high-growth, high-demand careers.
Using the company’s network of Mississippi branch offices, Manpower was well positioned to provide services in identifying, screening and placing those affected by the hurricane into interim jobs in their host city, if desired, and ultimately provide long-term employment solutions as they “work their way back home.”
The goals of the partnership were to work with 1,000 individuals to provide interviewing, training, assessment and references where appropriate, and to place 500 victims at Manpower clients within a year. To date, Manpower has placed more than 3,450 hurricane-impacted individuals into employment.
In Times of Natural Disaster
Following an active hurricane season in Florida in 2004, Manpower was appointed by the U.S. Department of Labor as the National Emergency Grant (NEG) Partner of Choice and Employer of Record. Manpower engaged its offices in the region to register NEG participants to work and receive pay in the temporary jobs created under the grant, providing these individuals with a means to support themselves. By identifying eligible worksites and providing the unemployed with a maximum six-month clean-up assignment, Manpower was able to secure temporary employment for more than 1300 individuals who would have otherwise been unemployed as a result of the hurricanes.
In partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor and the State of Mississippi, Manpower was also instrumental in providing employment and support services to more than 3450 Hurricane Katrina evacuees in 2005.
China Earthquake Recovery
Earthquake Damages
The magnitude 8.0 earthquake that struck on May 12, 2008 in Wenchuan County (Sichuan Province), was the most devastating earthquake in the history of the People's Republic of China. Over 30,000 aftershocks made rescue efforts extremely difficult.
The earthquake also affected 10 other provinces, including Shanxi (Shaanxi), Gansu and Chongqing. Official figures stated that 69,227 people were confirmed dead, 17,923 were listed as missing and 15.1 million left homeless.
Estimates of the direct economic loss reached 845.1 billion RMB (124.2 billion USD), making the earthquake one of the costliest natural disasters in Chinese history. The earthquake and aftershocks also triggered secondary disasters such as landslides and avalanches.
Manpower's Response - Immediate Aid and Long-Term Assistance
Manpower is committed to long-term solutions to aid in the recovery from disasters of this scope. The loss of schools especially presents a specific challenge to communities on the long road to recovery.
Because the devastation was so widespread, Manpower first acted with short-term assistance while undertaking field research to understand longer-term needs. Soon after the earthquake, Manpower donated sleeping bags and tents (valued at RMB 100,350) which were badly needed in the earthquake-affected area, helping some of the victims pull through the earliest days of this difficult time.
Based on field research, Manpower determined that there was a critical need to aid in the effort to reconstruct an elementary school in Ningqiang County, Shanxi (Shaanxi) Province.
Reconstruction of Juting Central Elementary School
Ningqiang County is located near the quake's epicenter and the county's Juting Central Elementary School was destroyed by the earthquake. Manpower committed to donate two million RMB (294,000 USD) to help the reconstruction of the school. On 28 October 2009, the new school was inaugurated as the only elementary school for the children of Ningqiang County where classroom activities began immediately. The Manpower Ningqiang Elementary School inauguration was attended by Julianna Zhu – Human Resources Director of Manpower China, Fumio Kohno – Vice President and Financial Director of Manpower Japan, and representatives from Shaanxi Province Human Resource and Social Security Department, Association of Human Resources Service Industry of Shanghai, Hanzhong City Personnel Bureau, and Ningqiang County Government officer.
To see pictures and to learn more about the Manpower Ningqiang Elementary school please visit the Manpower China’s CSR Webpage
The reconstruction of Juting Central Elementary School is only the beginning. Manpower will continue to assist the children in this earthquake-affected area, and help them achieve the education they need in order to go on and succeed in the world of work.
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