This season of Tight Knit has covered a lot of ground seeking to understand the landscape of workforce development in Southeast Michigan and Western New York. In our final episode, Tight Knit host Shannon Cason brings several guests to the table to answer the question: Where do we go from here to meet the needs of so many stakeholders? The conversa…

A missed phone bill, a late bus, or even a not-quite-completed degree can derail employment for many. Meanwhile, employers suffer the cost of poor retention and few promotions within their entry-level workers. In this episode, we learn about the Employer Resource Network, ERN, which brings businesses together to solve sticky employment issues in th…

If businesses want to find enough workers, they’ll need to change their hiring practices, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. We look at programs that provide job opportunities for untapped workers and businesses, why things have changed, what it means for business, and how nonprofits are stepping up to give those often overlook…

From solar cells and batteries to electric vehicles, the future is electric. Getting there takes a coordinated effort among nonprofits, schools and colleges, businesses and governments. We talk to several organizations in Detroit and Buffalo about upskilling workers and enticing young people to the field.…

Take a deeper look at how workforce development programs, government, and businesses cooperate to keep workers and build economic opportunity. This episode also explores financial risks of these changes and the impacts on communities at large.By Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, WDET, Lafayette American

At Buffalo’s Northland Workforce Training Center on Buffalo’s Eastside, men and women are finding new careers in advanced manufacturing. The center’s programs help to fill a skilled trades workforce gap in Western New York. In Detroit, Sarah Gregory with Detroit Regional Partnership explains how they draw business to Southeastern Michigan.…

This week we look at how public education helps the workforce, and we talk to one teenager who loves shop class at Detroit’s Randolph Career and Technical Center, and to Don Hutchison who had a bumpy road after high school and is now Dean of Engineering and Advanced Technology at Macomb Community College.…

Learn more about the Tight Knit series from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation at tightknit.org. Tight Knit is hosted by Shannon Cason. Our supervising producer and editor is Sea Stachura and our executive producer is David Leins. This episode was produced and reported by Rob St. Mary, Cary Junior II, Jack Filbrant and Patrick Bernas. Sound design …

Our award-winning series returns with Tight Knit Season 2 focused on Workforce Development. In this season, we follow teens and adults as they navigate the various pathways that can lead to good jobs and careers, and the systems that can support or impede their success.By Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, Lafayette American, WDET

Many people in the U.S. are getting older without a close family member who can take care of them. A Buffalo organization is one of a growing number of global “villages” that draw on volunteers to help otherwise isolated people with all aspects of caregiving.By Mary Sier, Lafayette American, Ashley Milne-Tyte, Thrilla Park Audio, Mikel Ellcessor, Limina House, Sara Ali, Diantha Parker

A neurologist found himself entirely unprepared, emotionally and professionally, for his father’s Alzheimer’s Disease. But over time, Alzheimer’s revealed a side of his father that changed the son’s view of his dad--and of the brain--forever.By Lafayette American, Ashley Milne-Tyte, Sara Ali, Mary Sier, Mikel Ellcessor, Limina House, Diantha Parker, Thrilla Park Audio

Four generations of the Roberts family live in one house in central Michigan. They use the house itself, off-the-shelf technology, and other creative ways to help look after a family member with dementia, even training their very cute Bichon Frise to be a service dog.By Thrilla Park Audio, Mikel Ellcessor, Limina House, Mary Sier, Diantha Parker, Ashley Milne-Tyte, Lafayette American, Sara Ali

We meet two women who moved across the country to look after their respective sets of aging parents, even though their elders, who came to the U.S. from India, had trouble accepting them: both individually, when they came out as lesbians, and as a married couple.By Thrilla Park Audio, Mary Sier, Ashley Milne-Tyte, Limina House, Mikel Ellcessor, Lafayette American, Diantha Parker, Sara Ali

You might become a parent’s caregiver out of love, or a wish to give back. But that’s much harder for children who were abused by the parent who needs them.By Lafayette American, Mary Sier, Thrilla Park Audio, Diantha Parker, Mikel Ellcessor, Ashley Milne-Tyte, Limina House, Sara Ali

Aging in place can be harder in rural communities, where resources and trained help can be scarce or far away. But in Chautauqua County, New York, we meet one woman who’s making a huge difference for countless isolated caregivers.By Mary Sier, Mikel Ellcessor, Ashley Milne-Tyte, Lafayette American, Thrilla Park Audio, Sara Ali, Limina House, Diantha Parker

Detroit’s Angelena Taylor was only 28 when she became her father’s main caregiver after he had a stroke. This millennial daughter, educator, and former Ms. Black Michigan is focused on her dad while also setting goals for herself: to travel, do fulfilling work, and have her own family.By Thrilla Park Audio, Diantha Parker, Lafayette American, Limina House, Mikel Ellcessor, Ashley Milne-Tyte, Mary Sier, Sara Ali

Two families approach their roles as caregivers with a combination of tech, ingenuity, love--and in one case, a very smart little dog.By Diantha Parker, Thrilla Park Audio, Ashley Milne-Tyte, Sara Ali, Mary Sier, Mikel Ellcessor, Lafayette American, Limina House