Ideal Concepts, Inc. was recently presented with a Governor’s Achievement Award for outstanding hiring and workforce development success by Governor Tom Wolf’s cabinet secretaries. The awards are sponsored by the PA Department of Human Services, and were bestowed during the 2017 Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association Employment, Training & Education Conference in Hershey, PA.
Human Services Secretary Ted Dallas said of the three Pennsylvania companies awarded, "The Department of Human Services is proud of the success of Ideal Concepts, Inc. and (the other honorees). Increasing employment opportunities for the people we serve is a top priority at DHS. The work of each of these organizations exemplifies does just that. In hiring outstanding employees, they have helped individuals become self-sufficient which helps the entire commonwealth.”
Ideal Concepts was nominated for the award by PA CareerLink® Lehigh Valley. Ideal Concepts has partnered with CareerLink® for the past two years, frequently hiring referred job candidates and utilizing Pennsylvania Workforce Development programs like On-The-Job Training (OJT) and the Lehigh Valley Employment, Advancement and Retention Network (EARN) Program.
Since their partnership with CareerLink began, Ideal Concepts has utilized the OJT program 25 times, receiving wage reimbursement to help defer the costs of new hires. Positions range from Customer Service Representatives (CSR) to TeleSales Agents, to a Computer Systems Analyst. For many EARN participants, this is an invaluable opportunity to enter or re-enter the workforce.
The On-the-Job Training program allows us to take entry level individuals and create a career path for them within our company,” said Ideal Concepts president John Pequeno. “We love to promote from within, and the opportunity to find dedicated, enthusiastic employees who are excited to learn new skills and grow within our ranks is always appreciated.
Ideal Concepts prides itself in its willingness to hire individuals who may only have entry-level skills and provide a career pathway to more advanced positions. The vital programs through the PA Workforce Development Board allowed Ideal Concepts to save on training costs, and therefore grow at an extremely rapid pace. In the past year, the company has more than tripled their team, from 12 full time employees in December 2016 to more than 40 this month.
After achieving a 300% revenue growth every year for the past three years, Ideal Concepts expects to endure at this growth rate in the future, and therefore, continue their valuable partnership with the PA Workforce Development Board. That’s something Secretary Dallas heartily supports: “The department congratulates these companies on their accomplishments and hopes that their successes will encourage others to follow in their footsteps.”
This state award joins a long list of local, statewide, and national recognitions the company has recently received. Ideal Concepts was voted as one of the Lehigh Valley’s Top Workplaces by the Morning Call for 2017, was named Business of the Year by Lehigh Valley Business Magazine in 2015, and was ranked in the top 25% of the Inc. 5000, a national list based on revenue growth by Inc. Magazine in 2016 (and expect to rank even higher for 2017).
