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Originally Posted by Benzgirl
It's actually run by the county and is called the Employment netWORK. Most of the services available for the unemployed is not what I can use (i.e. Interviewing Skills, Computer Basics), but they do qualify the unemployed for ITA money. I got the third degree when I was on the phone with the director that I needed to go to their "boot camp" before getting the money. I told him I would get "an excuse" from my Outplacement Coach, if he would like.
Right now, when I interview I am up against candidates who also have Master's Degrees and PhDs. The new face of the unemployed are not blue collar workers; they are educated professionals. So many people I have spoken with are competing against their former co-workers for the same positions. Two of the positions I interviewed for were given to internal candidates, one position was put "on hold", and two others were not what I thought they were. I'm trying to network my way into a Temp position underwriting loans (something I did years ago), just to get me through the next few months.
I'm reinventing myself, which is why I'm going after the Paralegal Cert. I've worked in banking/mortgage for 17 years and know enough about the regulations and statues of credit. I am positioning myself to become a foreclosure or bankruptcy paralegal. Heavens knows, there is plenty of that going on. Sure it's a huge paycut, but honestly, I don't care at this point about the money. I have worked full time for 25 years and I'm going stir crazy.
When I went to a seminar a few weeks ago, they said that Unemployment apps in the county were up 300% from one year ago. It's really bad, and not just here. I just talked to a friend in LA. They are cutting everyone's hours at his company to 4 days and reducing their pay by 20% in order to avoid layoffs. One of my friends last week had to layoff 3 of her 10 employees.
Trust me. The tears flow often, and sometimes for the dumbest things. I'm not losing my house today or next month, but it could happen next year if things don't improve.
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What you're talking about sounds like a one-stop. They're all funded through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and managed by any one of many operators (county, state, community colleges or non-profits - like the one I work for).
I hope our economy bottoms out sooner than later. Of course, that means more people out of work for the short-term. But, it also means an upswing is just around the bend...perhaps even before a lot of people's UI runs out!