RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The equation is simple: members with no jobs = members who miss loan payments at their credit union.
That's why $890-million Altura CU has taken steps to help get members working again so they can pay their bills. California's unemployment rate has been consistently higher than the national average in recent years, and job losses in the "Inland Empire" portion of Southern California have been particularly acute.
Altura's market has taken the brunt of the recession, as evidenced by job figures for August: the national unemployment rate was 9.7%, California's was 12.2%, while the Inland Empire checked in at a whopping 14.5%. Riverside County, Altura's main service area, had an unemployment rate of 15%. Since August of 2008, the region has lost nearly 72,000 jobs, the CU reported.
Beginning in March, Altura launched a series of classes available both to its members and to the community at large. Topics included budgeting, resume writing, and interviewing tips. Many of the classes were led by Dana Moore a recruiter for Altura's human resources department. In June, Altura added a networking class led by SVP Ricki McManuis, who compared the value of social media versus face-to-face networking.
After receiving positive feedback from class participants, Moore and McManuis created a four-part workshop to address all the aspects of a job search. Guest recruiters put the job seekers through mock interviews, and participants tested their skills at a networking session with area employers.
Dubbed "Altura Academy," the four-week workshop was free for members. Non-members were charged $20, of which $12 was applied to Altura membership-this brought in 30 new members.
McManuis told Credit Union Journal she and Moore enjoyed leading the first edition of Altura Academy.
"It is a really good, fun series," she said. "Altura was already doing financial literacy workshops, and then we had our layoffs in April. Dana offered to help our employees with resume writing and brushing up their interviewing skills. She said she was getting a lot of requests for using Facebook and LinkedIn and other networking sites. This led to us putting together an academy to help people use those tools to help them."
The second version of Altura Academy began Nov. 4, and the CU already had 31 reservations one week in advance. McManuis said she and Moore added a fifth week to the course because the fourth and final class of the first workshop was the networking event. "Which meant we didn't get a chance to meet with the students to see how that went," she recalled. "The fifth week gives us a chance to have that download."
