Dr. Art Langer to Discuss Closing the Opportunity Gap for the Underserved at West Point

NEW YORK, Feb. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 21, 2018, Dr. Art Langer, Director of Columbia University's Center for Technology Management and Founder of the nonprofit Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS), will be a guest speaker for West Point Military Academy's Excel Scholars Program (EXCEL). The EXCEL program encourages promising cadets from underserved groups to strive for academic and professional success and compete for post-graduate scholarships, as well as to increase diversity in cadet leadership positions.

During his talk, Dr. Langer will draw upon his personal experiences of coming of age in the Bronx and how his life path, which includes conducting research at Columbia University, led him to found WOS in 2005. When recruiting talent, WOS draws upon Dr. Langer's research-based predictive analytics model to assess workplace readiness. Then through education, training and mentoring, WOS provides program participants with life-changing opportunities to become skilled workers who bring lasting value to companies and society, as well as gain financial stability through employment.

While reflecting on WOS' mission and impact, which includes serving over 3,800 individuals in over 40 locations, Dr. Langer will also address the need for workforce diversity and ways in which we can close the opportunity gap. Diversity leads to greater interactions between individuals from different backgrounds, exposing them to alternative perspectives and ideologies, which in turn help businesses better address the needs of the communities they serve. "In order for businesses to successfully diversify their workplaces, we need to bridge the opportunity gap so that underserved populations and veterans can be on equal footing when joining the workforce. WOS is closing that gap through soft- and hard-skills training as well as mentorship, together boosting program participants' self-confidence levels which is key for successful workplace integration," says Dr. Langer.

About Workforce Opportunity Services

Founded in 2005, Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to connecting companies dedicated to workforce diversity with a network of talented early career professionals who represent diverse communities, such as veterans and underserved populations. Our partners rely on us to recruit, educate, and train professionals with the highest potential who reflect diverse communities and customers. Utilizing a scientifically-based model, derived from research conducted at Columbia University, WOS has served over 3,800 individuals through partnerships with more than 60 corporations in 40+ locations around the world. For more information, please visit wforce.org.

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SOURCE Workforce Opportunity Services