Cooley's Strategies & Solutions
Erie, Pennsylvania · Workforce & community

Willing people. Real jobs. Fewer barriers.

Cooley's Strategies & Solutions connects Erie County employers with ready, willing workers from our own community, and helps clear the road for people who are ready to work.

IF NOT YOU, THEN WHO?

Erie's future gets built by the people already here.

For job seekers

Get paid to learn a trade.

Union construction apprenticeships right here in Erie. No degree, no certification and no experience needed. Free training, and you get paid while you learn.

Trades hiring now

LaborersCarpentersPaintersRoofersElectriciansCement MasonsBrick LayersIron WorkersGlaziersPlumbers & SteamfittersOperating EngineersSheet Metal Workers

Millions are being invested in Erie right now, from the Market House to the bayfront. Those crews need people.

What it takes

  • 18 or older
  • High school diploma or GED
  • Driver's license
  • Able to pass a drug test
  • Willing to show up and learn
Missing one of these? Call me anyway.

Suspended license, unpaid fines, child support holds: there are options most people have never been told about. Working through that is exactly what I do.

Apply online

ErieDiversityJobs.com

When it asks "Referred by," write DEONTE COOLEY.

ErieDiversityJobs.com logoIn partnership with Premier Education Services, Inc., Diversity Recruitment Division.

For employers

Hire for willingness, not just credentials.

You're always hiring, and it takes months to bring someone up to speed. We build a steady line of screened, prepared candidates from the Erie community, and we stay with every hire after day one.

  1. Build your intakeA short application, shared by QR code and direct link, built around your must-haves.
  2. Source from the communityDirect outreach through community centers, coaches, youth networks, churches and social media.
  3. Screen before presentingWe talk to every candidate ourselves and screen for reliability and what a 6 a.m. start really asks.
  4. Prepare them for day oneNobody shows up without knowing the shop floor, the schedule and what the first 90 days look like.
  5. Follow through at 30, 60, 90Direct contact with each hire, and a feedback loop with your team on who's sticking and why.
  6. Report what the data showsSourced, screened, hired and retained, with reasons for fallout so screening keeps getting better.

The bar is willingness. Show up, work hard, want to learn.

Community Resources

Heal our community. Help our community.

A free, searchable directory of help across Erie County, from crisis lines and housing to child care, reentry, veterans and seniors. Every listing has been checked, and every flyer is ready to share.

147local listings31categories52shareable flyers
Get paid to learn a trade flyerHeal our community flyerReady to work flyerWe take care of our own flyer

About

Built in Erie, for Erie.

Cooley's Strategies & Solutions is led by Deonte Cooley, an Erie educator who works with job seekers, employers and community organizations. The work comes down to one idea: there are willing, hard-working people in this city who just need someone to open the door and help them get past what's in the way.

  • Community recruiting for trades and industrial employers
  • Help with barriers to work: licenses, fines, records, GED
  • Union apprenticeship referrals with Premier Education Services
  • A free county-wide resource directory and flyer library

Contact

Let's talk.

Call or text

(814) 882-4482

In a crisis, call or text 988 any time.

Get the weekly push

Jobs, resources and what's on The Cook-Up, once a week.

IF NOT YOU, THEN WHO?