Confidence. Discipline. Professionalism.
These three principles are behind every program at Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow. The organization was founded in 1983 by Sister Mary Franciscus to serve out-of-school and unemployed young people in Sunset Park. Over the next three decades, OBT has grown a citywide footprint and expanded its services to support unemployed adults.
Through job training and job placement programs funded by Jobs to Build On and the Worker Service Centers, OBT helps New Yorkers from a range of backgrounds reenter the workforce, whether they are recently unemployed or are seeking a job for the first time.
“We work with them where they are at, and connect them to the services they need,” says executive director Randolph Peers.
OBT expects participants to approach job training with the same professionalism that would be expected in the business world. Appropriate dress, punctuality, and accountability are all required in the classroom, so participants are ready from day one at a new job.
OBT’s adult programs specialize in customer service and computer skills, with many graduates going on to jobs in the financial and legal industries. Participants can also enroll in GED and English courses.
For OBT, it all comes back to those three principles: confidence, discipline, and professionalism. Participants leave with more than new jobs. Their belief in themselves and what they can accomplish is renewed as well.
For 3,000 adults per year, that means new opportunities and new hope.
 

When Raquel Del Pilar Vasquez immigrated to New York from the Dominican Republic, she hoped to continue her career as an office assistant. She looked and looked for jobs, but the experience and skills from back home did not translate into a job here.
 
Raquel worked for years as a hotel housekeeper, but the physical labor took its toll and she had to give it up. She needed a new job to provide for her three children.
Then Raquel found Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow. 
OBT staff reviewed Raquel’s experience and discussed her career goals. On their advice, Raquel enrolled in certification courses in customer service and Microsoft Office.
“I used to do this work in my country,” says Raquel, “but the courses updated my knowledge because so much has changed. OBT helped me a lot.”
OBT’s assistance did not stop at training. They helped Raquel improve her resume and practiced job interviews with her. “When I went for the interview, I wasn’t nervous. I was prepared,” says Raquel.
Once she was ready, OBT sent Raquel to interview at a home healthcare agency called People Care. She got the job and two years later, has now been promoted to supervisor. It is a job that is providing for her family and she is proud of her work.
 
“It’s more than a company. Patients are like our family.”