Hitting the streets with job services

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Unemployment numbers have been decreasing, the Great Recession is technically over and things are starting to look up in most places.

But the national or even local unemployment numbers mean very little to a person who is still struggling to find work. Or to the person who worked up to a certain salary for 25 years, lost his or her job and is now taking any job at all in an attempt to make ends meet.

In other words, people are still looking for jobs, and the task can seem daunting.

The good news is, there are programs available to bring employers and potential employees together, and those programs are getting easier to access.

Last week the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, the Southern Maryland Workforce Investment Board and the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation came to Calvert County to show off the Mobile Career Center, a 38-foot work center that looks a lot like a commuter bus on the outside, but inside houses a number of tools to help people with their job searches. There are 11 computer work stations, SMART Boards, satellite Internet access for the times that broadband is out of reach — which occurs frequently in Southern Maryland — and broadcasting capabilities.

The money for the work center came from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which makes sense because it's ARRA money being used to help people find jobs.

In a time when so many are looking for work, this kind of investment seems like one that will pay off. A one-stop career center already exists in Prince Frederick, but the county's geography means that you can be in Calvert County yet still be quite far away from that center. A mobile center might make a difference for someone in Solomons or Dunkirk who can't easily get to Prince Frederick. Also, the center will be accessible at county events, like the Calvert County Fair in September, and will be seen by folks who might not have thought about using DLLR's services before.

Eric Franklin, the vice chairman of the Workforce Investment Board, told a reporter last week that 10,368 Calvert residents have used the organization's career services since July 2009, and that more than 47 percent reported employment afterward.

Numbers like that show that people are willing to take advantage of helpful services and that those services are making a difference.

The more time we spend on services that are directly affecting our neighbors' ability to find good jobs, the better off we all are.