Q: Tell us about you, your journey, and the organization you work for.

My name is Antwoine Clarke. I’m the employee development manager at Binghampton Development Corporation. We’re in the job readiness space, so we do on-the-job training in the circular economy.

We employ individuals at $12 to $16 an hour, and we teach job-related soft skills and financial literacy. We walk alongside of them, helping them to identify next steps of what’s the best placement for them after leaving the program.

Q: What’s been one recent moment in your work that’s brought you great joy?

I get super excited when people come and tell the stories of how our programing has really helped them to move forward, do some things that they thought they couldn’t accomplish, like taking them to check on a driver’s license, finding out that all they need to do is go take the test.

Or it’s people [that] started saving money, who just never thought they’d be able to save, and seeing their life in a better position that they thought they couldn’t be in. 

I was this adult who didn’t have guidance, didn’t have a community, didn’t have anything of this nature that helped me… Anytime [there’s] an opportunity to help people, I try to identify and understand that they have value to add and that they can live a better life. And that’s always a joy.

Q: What’s one piece of advice that you would give to other leaders in this space?

Have grace. People need the opportunity to learn as slow as they need to, and they need space to really be built up, they need a space where they can be encouraged and poured into. It takes time because it’s hard work. At moments, [where] you really want to give up on somebody, think about what it would look like if they had a breakthrough.

See them [through that] frustrating moment, when you feel like they just can’t get it, won’t get it. Give them another chance. If we’re not willing to work through the hard things, then what’s the point?

More on Binghampton Development Corporation (BDC) /BDC Business Hub.

Memphis-based Binghampton Development Corporation (BDC), an Accelerator alum, runs the BDC Business Hub, a warehouse-based on-the-job training program designed for living wage job preparedness.