One-Stop program lives up to its name
Lead Summary
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If you’re dealing with or facing unemployment, do you know all the programs available to you? Where to find childcare, housing, job training? How to fund a college education?
Great news: You don’t have to. That’s the beauty of the One-Stop centers sponsored by the state of Ohio and operated by the Job and Family Services (JFS) offices throughout the state. The One-Stop centers serve as intermediaries between people and the programs available.
“There are 19 federal programs in job and training services,” explained Bob Brown, manager of FayetteWorks, the One-Stop program housed at Southern State Community College’s Fayette Campus in Washington C.H. “The county-level One-Stops are a clearinghouse for all of those programs. We interview people and determine which program best meets their needs.”
The JFS web site explains how it all started: In 1998, Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act to reform federal job training programs and create a new, comprehensive workforceinvestment system. The reformed system is intended to be customer-focused, to help Americans access the tools they need to manage their careers through information and high quality services, and to help U.S. companies find skilled workers.
“People can stop in at a One-Stop center—8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday—fill out a registration form for services, and talk to someone,” Brown said.
The registration form asks customers about their employment, educational and military history, as well as whether the customer needs internet access, computer access, job market skills, resume writing, education/training, skills evaluation, interviewing skills, GED preparation, use of phone, career planning, job retention, fax/postage, and more.
“That’s the first step,” he said. “That puts them in our job search database matching system, a state-run system called SCOTI (Sharing Career Opportunity and Training Information). We also introduce our customers to the www.ohiomeansjobs.com web site.
“It’s pretty complex, hard to sort out,” he said. “But we serve as a liaison between the person and the programs. We try to make the determination of eligibility and let them know which ones best serve their needs.”
But stopping in is just one way to access the myriad programs that are available.
“We also have a rapid response team,” Brown said. “We go out if there’s plant closure. We talk to employees and let them know what their benefits are and how we can help them move forward to their next job.
“Our goal is to do what it takes to get a person into their new career, whether it be paid on-the-job training, first two years of an associate’s degree, last two years of a bachelor’s degree, or resume and interviewing skills.”
Brown said that many people are finding themselves out of work after spending 20 to 30 years with the same company. And, he said, they’re finding the world has changed since they last had to look for work.
“It’s a whole new ballgame,” he said. “Folks are struggling at times on how to even look for a job. If they need it, we walk them through setting up an email account, saving a resume on a thumb drive, searching for and applying for jobs online.”
The One-Stop centers typically offer workshops that deal with specific needs, such as resume preparation.
“Employers are getting overwhelmed with people looking for work,” Brown said. “They’re getting hundreds of resumes and typically plan on only interviewing six to 10 people per opening. To get to that number, they have to be brutal. They look at a resume, if there are typos, bad grammar, gaps in employment history, they automatically rule it out. We can help people’s chances of not getting automatically ruled out.”
Once someone lands a job, his or her relationship with the One-Stop Center is not necessarily over. Brown said the centers offer a year-long follow up to assist with coping skills and job-keeping skills.
To learn more about the One-Stop program, call or visit the center in your home county. Southern State Community College has a contract with JFS in each of its service districts—Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette and Highland counties:
· In Adams and Brown counties, the program is Adams-Brown Employment & Training (ABETS) One-Stop: Two center sites are located at 19211 Main St., Winchester, OH 45697, and at 406 W. Plum St., Georgetown, OH 45121. Contact Sandy Allen at 1-800-233-7891. For more information, visit www.abets.org.
· In Clinton County, the program is CCWorks One-Stop: Located on the Job & Family Services site at 1025 S. South St., Suite 500, Wilmington, OH, 45177. Contact Josh Homan at 937-382-7762. For more information, visit http://co.clinton.oh.us/work/.
· In Fayette County, the program is FayetteWorks One-Stop: Located in a wing of the Learning Resources Center on the Fayette Campus of Southern State Community College, 1270, U.S. Route 62 SW, Washington C.H., OH 43160. Contact Bob Brown, manager, at 1-800-628-7722, ext. 5720. For more info, visit www.fayetteworks.com.
· In Highland County, the program is Highland County One-Stop: Located on the Job & Family Services site in the Hi-TEC building, 1575 N. High St., Hillsboro, OH 45133. Contact Brenda Hamilton, Rick Thompson or Jayne Cox at 937-393-1933. For more info, visit www.highlandcountyworks.com.
If you’re dealing with or facing unemployment, do you know all the programs available to you? Where to find childcare, housing, job training? How to fund a college education?
Great news: You don’t have to. That’s the beauty of the One-Stop centers sponsored by the state of Ohio and operated by the Job and Family Services (JFS) offices throughout the state. The One-Stop centers serve as intermediaries between people and the programs available.
“There are 19 federal programs in job and training services,” explained Bob Brown, manager of FayetteWorks, the One-Stop program housed at Southern State Community College’s Fayette Campus in Washington C.H. “The county-level One-Stops are a clearinghouse for all of those programs. We interview people and determine which program best meets their needs.”
The JFS web site explains how it all started: In 1998, Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act to reform federal job training programs and create a new, comprehensive workforceinvestment system. The reformed system is intended to be customer-focused, to help Americans access the tools they need to manage their careers through information and high quality services, and to help U.S. companies find skilled workers.
“People can stop in at a One-Stop center—8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday—fill out a registration form for services, and talk to someone,” Brown said.
The registration form asks customers about their employment, educational and military history, as well as whether the customer needs internet access, computer access, job market skills, resume writing, education/training, skills evaluation, interviewing skills, GED preparation, use of phone, career planning, job retention, fax/postage, and more.
“That’s the first step,” he said. “That puts them in our job search database matching system, a state-run system called SCOTI (Sharing Career Opportunity and Training Information). We also introduce our customers to the www.ohiomeansjobs.com web site.
“It’s pretty complex, hard to sort out,” he said. “But we serve as a liaison between the person and the programs. We try to make the determination of eligibility and let them know which ones best serve their needs.”
But stopping in is just one way to access the myriad programs that are available.
“We also have a rapid response team,” Brown said. “We go out if there’s plant closure. We talk to employees and let them know what their benefits are and how we can help them move forward to their next job.
“Our goal is to do what it takes to get a person into their new career, whether it be paid on-the-job training, first two years of an associate’s degree, last two years of a bachelor’s degree, or resume and interviewing skills.”
Brown said that many people are finding themselves out of work after spending 20 to 30 years with the same company. And, he said, they’re finding the world has changed since they last had to look for work.
“It’s a whole new ballgame,” he said. “Folks are struggling at times on how to even look for a job. If they need it, we walk them through setting up an email account, saving a resume on a thumb drive, searching for and applying for jobs online.”
The One-Stop centers typically offer workshops that deal with specific needs, such as resume preparation.
“Employers are getting overwhelmed with people looking for work,” Brown said. “They’re getting hundreds of resumes and typically plan on only interviewing six to 10 people per opening. To get to that number, they have to be brutal. They look at a resume, if there are typos, bad grammar, gaps in employment history, they automatically rule it out. We can help people’s chances of not getting automatically ruled out.”
Once someone lands a job, his or her relationship with the One-Stop Center is not necessarily over. Brown said the centers offer a year-long follow up to assist with coping skills and job-keeping skills.
To learn more about the One-Stop program, call or visit the center in your home county. Southern State Community College has a contract with JFS in each of its service districts—Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette and Highland counties:
· In Adams and Brown counties, the program is Adams-Brown Employment & Training (ABETS) One-Stop: Two center sites are located at 19211 Main St., Winchester, OH 45697, and at 406 W. Plum St., Georgetown, OH 45121. Contact Sandy Allen at 1-800-233-7891. For more information, visit www.abets.org.
· In Clinton County, the program is CCWorks One-Stop: Located on the Job & Family Services site at 1025 S. South St., Suite 500, Wilmington, OH, 45177. Contact Josh Homan at 937-382-7762. For more information, visit http://co.clinton.oh.us/work/.
· In Fayette County, the program is FayetteWorks One-Stop: Located in a wing of the Learning Resources Center on the Fayette Campus of Southern State Community College, 1270, U.S. Route 62 SW, Washington C.H., OH 43160. Contact Bob Brown, manager, at 1-800-628-7722, ext. 5720. For more info, visit www.fayetteworks.com.
· In Highland County, the program is Highland County One-Stop: Located on the Job & Family Services site in the Hi-TEC building, 1575 N. High St., Hillsboro, OH 45133. Contact Brenda Hamilton, Rick Thompson or Jayne Cox at 937-393-1933. For more info, visit www.highlandcountyworks.com.
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