Helping fill the jobs

Business First of Buffalo - by Tracey Drury Business First

Jim Courtney

Larry Blanco, left, speaks with applicant Michael Merriweather during a recruitment session for Command Security Corp.

Some companies might have difficulty filling 35 jobs when entering a new market.

But for Command Security Corp., the task was eased by making one phone call to the Buffalo & Erie County Workforce Investment Board.

The Poughkeepsie-area security company opened its office in Cheektowaga in early September to service a new contract with HSBC Bank. After hiring two managers using a professional recruitment firm, the agency turned to the WIB to help fill about 30 security guard positions. The WIB set up an employer-hosted breakfast at its downtown service site, the Buffalo Employment & Training Center, and invited job seekers from its database to attend. A group of 22 job seekers participated in the Sept. 19 breakfast, and all were invited back for a second interview at Command Security.

"The numbers of individuals that we were able to speak to as well as the suitability of the individuals for what we were looking for - it was fantastic," said Larry Blanco, branch manager for Command's Parsippany, N.J., office, who has helped set up the new office.

Blanco, who has worked with other WIA-funded centers in the New Jersey area, said he knew working with the WIB and BETC would be the quickest way to find the qualified employees.

"The people at the job service just acted as if we were part of the family. The fact we are new to town had no bearing," said Blanco, who plans to fill some Rochester openings through a similar breakfast with a Rochester center.

Employers of all sizes can find over a dozen free services to help them recruit, retain and train employees, all funded through the Workforce Investment Act. Despite the fact the agency has been providing services since 2000, confusion or ignorance remains over what's available, largely because it is so different from predecessor programs.

The WIB was created through the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, which took up where the Job Training Partnership Act left off. Before, JTPA-funded organizations, like the former Private Industry Council of Buffalo & Erie County, provided group job training and placement services. The new delivery system through WIA provided opportunities for individuals to receive job information services, references and training at one-stop centers. It also offers expanded services for employers.

"It has evolved from what used to be a poverty program for economically displaced people to literally the Workforce Investment Act - it is the entire workforce and it's an incredible charge," said James Finamore, executive director of the WIB.

The WIB offers a range of services for businesses:

§ Job training: The WIB system will help match a company with job-seekers from its database. If there is a defined skills gap and the employer is willing to offer training, the WIB will provide 50 percent of the gross wage for the period it takes to upgrade those skills - anywhere from two weeks to six months.

Customized classroom training is also available for groups of 10 or more; and employers can add small groups of employees into larger group training sessions and classes.

The agency also provides individual training accounts or vouchers of up to $3,000 per person. Individuals can select from 1,000 approved courses that fall in the demand occupations list.

§ Recruitment: Employers can use the WIB site for placement of job orders, matching and referrals, resume viewing online and set-up of interviews with pre-screened individuals.

"It gives them the opportunity to reach a diverse group of job seekers in a manner that costs them nothing," says Eugene Bagen, director of business services at the Buffalo and Erie County Workforce Development Consortium Inc., which operates two One-Stop centers for the WIB in Buffalo or at Erie Community College's Orchard Park campus.

Niagara County Employment & Training also runs its own WIA-funded center in Niagara Falls, while other WIA-funded organizations run programs in the Southern Tier counties.

"Many companies don't have an HR function - the owner still spends half their time on the floor. This allows us to take on part of the HR element, assist the small companies and provide a service for free that they may have had to have someone else provide or pay to get," says David Kaczor, WIB director of marketing.

§ Employer-hosted breakfast clubs: This option, essentially a private job fair, gives employers who are looking to fill several positions the opportunity to publish and post the date and time of their event, then hold it at the One-Stop centers.

§ Job fairs: The centers host half-day job fairs open to the community. Additionally, targeted recruitment fairs allow companies looking for a similar skills base to come together for recruitment days.

§ Testing: WIB offers basic reading and math literacy testing for applicants. More advanced testing is available through the partnership with ECC.

§ Roundtable discussions and customer focus groups: Employers from like industries come together to talk about their anticipated needs for the coming year, allowing the WIB to identify trends as job seekers come into the system.

"It's a great way to get great feedback about the type of service you're getting and make sure you're meeting the needs of the business community," Kaczor said.

§ Facilities use: Employers can use the One-Stop facilities and conference rooms for small group and large group meetings.

§ Outplacement services: The Department of Labor has a presence at each of the One-Stop centers and works hand in hand with the agency to help displaced workers. Employees receive assistance in building resumes and job skills profiles. The process also helps employers cut back on their unemployment benefits costs.

§ On-site training: The Workplace Essentials program helps employers increase literacy levels for math and reading aptitude. The program, free for incumbent workers, brings in teachers from BOCES and three area school districts, who do assessments and set-up customized programs. The training can be offered any time, including during lunch or after shift work at 11 p.m.

Bagen said one company used the program to train its long-time manufacturing workers who needed to be able to read technical manuals or blueprints to enable implementation of an ISO certification program.

"The way manufacturing and technology are evolving, we needed to bring them up to speed," he said.