About Us
About Us
Everyone who works hard deserves the opportunity to succeed.
However, the reality is that many of our neighbors face personal and systemic barriers to employment that they cannot overcome on their own.
Since 2000, Opportunity Junction has been providing training, support, work experience, and placement assistance, which help motivated Contra Costa County job seekers launch careers that lead to financial security.
When we work together, motivated job seekers develop the skills and confidence they need to succeed. Their success makes their families and our community stronger.
Mission
Driven by the fundamental belief that everyone who works hard deserves the opportunity to succeed, our mission is "to help motivated Contra Costa County job seekers develop the skills and confidence to launch careers that lead to financial security."
Programs
Our core programs help motivated job seekers launch careers that lead to financial security. We offer job training for careers in healthcare (starting with Certified Nursing Assistant training) and office administration (focused on office technology skills). We also offer career counseling and placement assistance to those with other goals and ambitions. In the evenings, we offer classes in computer applications.
Values
Our entire community has a stake in equitable opportunities to enable the success of job seekers. When our participants launch careers, they are better able to meet their own needs and the needs of their families. As our alumni grow in their careers, they have the resources to make the community stronger through their civic participation and volunteerism. Likewise, our entire community has a role to play in the success of our job seekers. We collaborate with local agencies, volunteers and employers to develop more comprehensive and effective programs. Local residents, foundations, corporations, and government agencies provide the funding that allows us to offer our programs. Together we make the community stronger.
We empower our job seekers to succeed in the employment market and in their careers. We recognize that each job seeker has unique aspirations that we respect and support. This means building on their strengths and providing them with the experience and feedback that helps them build personal and professional confidence. We value the voice and autonomy of the people we serve.
We exist for the purpose of having a long‐term impact on the careers of our job seekers so that they achieve self‐sustaining employment. The outcomes of our work are quantifiable and measurable. We are committed to gather data to assess our impact, evaluate the effectiveness of program changes, explore equity considerations, and adapt to opportunities. In addition, our job seekers achieve intangible benefits such as increased confidence and professional networks. We value creativity and diversity, including the voices of our alumni, to help us achieve and improve our impact.
This work succeeds only if we are unflinchingly honest with ourselves and with our diverse community. Program outcomes and financial results, whatever they are, guide our program development, allocation of resources and must be incorporated into our long-term planning. Setbacks and challenges are opportunities for iteration of improvement and must be viewed through an unbiased lens. Our commitment is always to the mission and the interested, motivated community we serve, not to the organization itself. We rally around Opportunity Junction and work for its growth because of its effectiveness in serving our mission.
Collaborations
Opportunity Junction belongs to the Contra Costa Workforce Collaborative (CCWC), a part of East Bay Works. CCWC, led by our partner Rubicon, combines the programs and power of local workforce organizations, adult education providers, and the community college system to provide job training and other career services funded by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
The East Contra Costa Community Alliance, or ECCCA, is a collaborative of nonprofits dedicated to strengthening policies, services, and resources in East Contra Costa. Opportunity Junction sits on the Steering Committee along with Brighter Beginnings, Contra Costa County Court Appointed Special Advocates, Contra Costa Senior Legal Services, C.O.P.E. Family Support Center, Loaves and Fishes, Monument Impact, People Who Care, Rainbow Community Center, SparkPoint Contra Costa, Village Community Resource Center, and Winter Nights Family Shelter.
Opportunity Junction also serves on the Executive Committee of the Contra Costa Family Economic Security Partnership (FESP). FESP is a public, private and nonprofit collaboration dedicated to increasing the income and building the assets of low-income families and individuals living in Contra Costa County. While acknowledging the significance of direct service provision, FESP also increases awareness of the root causes of poverty and the importance of policy/advocacy to focus on the structural and systemic changes needed to end poverty.
Opportunity Junction is a part of SparkPoint Contra Costa. SparkPoint's mission is to partner with agencies to empower individuals and families to become financial sustainable and advocates for social change. Opportunity Junction is one of those partner agencies, providing career counseling and placement assistance at the Bay Point location (in the Ambrose Community Center).
