11 years ago in May, Kvale began her employment with Workforce Development. She was working as a General Education Development teacher with Workforce Development’s previous placement specialist when she found out that a position was coming open, applied and was offered a job. Since that time, she has had three different job titles or duties within the organization.

743 different visitors, on average per month from July 2009 through December 2010, walked through the door seeking the services of Workforce Development at the Albert Lea WorkForce Center.

45 cents was the average increased amount of wages Workforce Development set as its goal for adults to obtain upon completion of its programs, one year after enrolling in Workforce Development programs.

1,165 was the total number of people enrolled in Workforce Development’s intensive services programs in Albert Lea, from July 2009 through December 2010. Of those, 442 were placed into jobs upon completion of the programs, and 324 remain active in the program.

401 applicants tested for the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate from February 2009 through December 2010, and 318 of those applicants were awarded certificates.

$3.03 was the actual average increased amount of wages that adults completing Workforce Development programs received between Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2010, one year after enrolling in Workforce Development programs.

2 adults and 3 youth in Freeborn County each received $5,000 scholarships from Workforce Development in the 2010 fall term to be used toward their education.

Val Kvale
Secret identity: placement specialist
Base of operations: Workforce Development at the Albert Lea WorkForce Center, Albert Lea
Superpowers: Kvale has lived and worked in the area since the early 1980s and knows a lot of people for networking.
Kryptonite: Because she’s trying to make the best fit possible for both, clients and employers, she’s very detail-oriented which takes up a lot of her time.
Affiliations: fiance, Bruce, and her mother, two brothers, one sister, three nieces and one nephew
Origin: An English teacher by education with a minor in mass communications, Kvale worked in human services and school settings prior to becoming a placement specialist.