Carl Knoblock of the U.S. SBA (left) and Steve Mackie of SSI (right)
Manassas Park–based Storage Strategies Inc. (SSI) has created 16 new jobs in Manassas Park since locating there in 2014. The company also hires, trains and certifies local residents as Microsoft Office Specialists. These employees then provide information technology (IT) skills coaching, free of charge, to other local residents through SSI Career Resource Center. The Career Resource Center’s one-on-one customized IT skills tutoring and fully equipped IT training lab provide Manassas Park with one of the most unique workforce development programs in Northern Virginia at no cost to city residents.
Steve Mackie, president of SSI, said that the community has been extremely receptive to the Career Resource Center. Demand for its services is growing so much that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) took notice.
Carl Knoblock, Richmond district director of the SBA, was at SSI’s office recently to recognize the SSI’s Career Resource Center, a community service project that the company offers as part of its participation in a Manassas Park HUBZone.
Knoblock commented that the mutually beneficial relationship between SSI and the City of Manassas Park serves as an ideal model for other municipalities and businesses to follow. He said that these types of cooperative, public-private partnerships are a
great way for industry to contribute to workforce development, thereby spurring greater economic development. Mackie said, “It was a pleasure to put a face with the agency that certified our company as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone
(HUBZone) Small Business.” HUBZones promote economic development through increased access to federal procurement opportunities.
Mackie said the long-term goal is for part-time Career Resource Center employees to use the skills and experience they gained to qualify for full-time employment on a billable contract. That goal was recently achieved by one Manassas Park resident, who was hired by SSI as a high school student, trained and certified as a Microsoft Office Specialist, worked part-time during high school and junior college, submitted for a security clearance, and recently transitioned to a full-time job with benefits on an SSI contract supporting the U.S. Department of State.
Storage Strategies Inc. is a certified HUBZone, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that has supported federal and commercial clients for more than nine years. SSI provides professional services, including systems engineering, information systems integration, technology management services, business intelligence analytics and information assurance training services.
To learn more about SSI, visit ssihq.net or contact Steve Mackie at 703-451-1860.
