CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – The help available through Northwest PA CareerLink was presented at this week’s Clarion County Commissioners work session.
(Pictured above: Clarion County Commissioners Ed Heasley, Ted Tharan, Wayne Brosius, and Administrative Assistant Shelly Parkes.)
The Pennsylvania Career Link provides the necessary training for people looking for jobs and guidance for those entering the workforce from high school and works with businesses and industries to help recruit needed employees.
Clarion County Commissioner Wayne Brosius is a member of the Workforce Development Board of the Northwest PA CareerLink and assisted in presenting a thorough review of the help available from Pennsylvania CareerLink at Tuesday morning’s work session.
The board acts as both the planner for the region on areas of workforce development and the board of directors for the local workforce investment area. It consists of business executives, community leaders, and one county commissioner from each of the six regional CareerLink member counties.
“Workforce is a big issue right now because of our low unemployment rate and everything else, but we’ve got two ladies here that work in this all the time,” Brosius said. “That’s what they do. We have Dr. Lisa Miller, the Northwest PA Job Connect’s executive director, and Jennifer Williams, Service and Delivery Manager of CareerLink.”
(Pictured: Dr. Lisa Miller, right, and Jennifer Williams offer a master’s class in workforce development activities.)
“Northwest PA Job Connect encompasses the six counties in the Northwest of the Erie, Crawford, Forest, Venango, Clarion, and Warren,” Miller said. “We also work closely with the Department of Labor and Industry on the state level and many other partners.”
Excerpts of the presentation follow.
Williams gave an overview of the CareerLink Services available.
“Today we’re going to talk about the business solutions team at CareerLink and how we work collaboratively with core partners and businesses and offer services, including work experience, which is for youth internships, transitional jobs for adults and dislocated workers on the job training, customized training, incumbent worker training, registered apprenticeships, and pre-app apprenticeships.”
CareerLink partners with the Office of certification rehabilitation to provide various employer services.
“We match pre-screened qualified candidates to your business requirements and provide follow-up support to satisfy the employee and employer. We partner with many local agencies to help eliminate barriers for individuals who experience those in the community. Support services are also available for qualified individuals who must overcome other barriers to achieve employment and educational goals. We offer career development workshops and assist employers in skilling up their current employees.
“One of the programs that we use is Skill Up PA. It’s a metrics learning platform with a wide array of courses in topics, including basic work, work skills, and advanced training for managers.
“We provide services at no cost to post open positions on the PA CareerLink oversight, a website, and offer pre-screening of candidates. Our business solutions team works in tandem with case managers to identify quality candidates from active participants. In the CWDs, we use PA Work Sets to analyze and compare wages for current and regional workforce statistics to create specific job descriptions which local employers can use as a valuable resource in assessing their internal hiring practices.
“We offer to host in-person and virtual events with various organizations. Last week, we had one in the Clarion Mall with over 25 different employers. Our work experience program is a subsidized or wage reimbursement program and is especially attractive for entry-level positions. We employ out-of-school youth aged 16 to 24 for your full-time and part-time positions for up to 360 hours.
“At $12 an hour, it may be extended if needed for paid work experience. The employer has no obligation to hire at the end of the program, and no liability coverage is needed. We also help with work-related certifications and license fees with supportive services, funding, work-related equipment, and uniforms.
“We have internship programs that operate from six to 12 weeks targeting young adults. The participants work between 15 and 40 hours a week for about 480 hours.
“Transitional jobs are subsidized employment opportunities targeting adult and dislocated workers with chronic unemployment or inconsistent work history. Their purpose is to build workplace skills and job history. We hope that the individual will be considered for a position if they perform satisfactorily in their transitional job. An employer provides on-the-job training to participate to a participant who is engaged in learning both hard skills and the company culture while performing tasks the way the business wants to perform them, wants them performed.
“Employers may receive 50 to 75 percent wage reimbursement for the contracted time. The expectation with an OJT is that participants are hired full-time upon completing the program and must be retained for a minimum of six months.
“Our incumbent worker training program assistant organizes funding for our training of current employees at a business or organization. These are specific criteria for the employer and employee that they have to meet to be eligible. The training must provide knowledge or skills to meet adequate occupation performance. These opportunities are best for those who have to upskill in their current role. Funds may be utilized in-demand occupations to enable participants to become economically self-sufficient.
“Specific criteria determine the details of the employer reimbursement rate, and a business solution consultant can help you with, can help any businesses with that and walk through the specifics.
“Our registered apprenticeship and pre-apprentice programs enable businesses to develop and apply industry standards to trading programs for registered apprentices and can increase productivity and improve the workforce quality. This past year has seen a lot of expansion at our registered apprenticeship programs, and it’s an effective way for businesses to ensure an ample supply of well-qualified, highly-trained workers by engaging directly in their preparations, education, and training. An individualized training account, a Workforce Scholarship, provides a skills training opportunity to qualified job seekers via an approved educational provider.
“Think of it as a scholarship for eligible job seekers after the participant completes it. Job seekers are offered continued employment assistance and programs like registered apprenticeships, wages, and direct employment with businesses that are currently hiring. “
Dr. Lisa Miller
“All of our services are available to all of the businesses and job seekers in your region and well across the other five counties.
“The funding for that board does come from Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, but originates at the Federal Department of Labor, so Federal Department of Labor to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, and then designated across the 23 workforce areas across Pennsylvania, of which this is one with the six counties that he did mention.
“They’re generally people with job seekers facing barriers to employment. Other funds come from the Department of Human Services, so we have two different pools of money. As a board, we apply for other grants from different entities. Some of them are labor and industry; some are statewide funds that we can bring in for targeted issues in the region.
“We bring in approximately $7 million across the six counties every fiscal year that is designated for job seekers and businesses in the region. The specific functions of the board are to oversee those funds and convene, collaborate, and navigate.
“We pull together chambers, economic development entities, training providers, and businesses to make sure that they understand the role of these funds and how they can really support people, especially in these times when they need new employees on their staff. We also provide a decent amount of law labor market information.
“The people who are doing the training and receiving the training funds have to be on the eligible training provider list.
“There are a lot of steps to the system, but it is a very effective system. There are a lot of dollars there to be used, and we are glad to help anyone navigate that who needs assistance.
“One of the things that we’ve also seen a lot lately is a struggle for the more rural counties in that the cost of living is really low, but that doesn’t always come across in the job posting. And so, as their salaries fit their region, they don’t necessarily attract people in the way they need to.
“We have a lot of discussions across the region about wages and how important they are to keep abreast of current wages. We had Business Education Partnership money that was brought into the region. And in Clarion specifically, from about 2019 to 2021, it was used for students to complete career assessments, career exploration activities, go and visit industries, and see what is in the region as well as build career plans.
“We see a huge impact on high school kids and getting them engaged in the region’s employment so that they stay in the region and don’t migrate away after graduation. We think it’s really important to get businesses in there, get them in front of students, and get them out into those employers’ businesses so that they can get engaged in what occupations are available here and help them stay in the region. We also bring in funds from the Department of Human Services, temporary assistance for needy families. That has been used very well across the region for things along those lines with engaging students before they leave the region.
“The other way that we engage with Clarion is through mobile service delivery. So you may remember that you had a PA Career Link in this county for some time and have now switched to more mobile service delivery where we will meet people in the community wherever they want. But, we do have arrangements with the Clarion County Independent Living Echoes, Memorial Library, Foxburg Library, Knox Library, and Redbank Library where people can go and participate in workshops or meet with Create Career Link staff, whatever is needed. We also have public access to the Clarion Mall.
“We all hear that a lot of the industries in the region are struggling to find employees, and one of the things that we do is also look at what things are the great levelers of the playing field. So what things really go across all those occupations and make it hard for them to find employees? The things that seem to come up the most often are; obviously, broadband, childcare, and mental health has come up quite a bit lately as far as taking people out of the workforce or preventing them from really engaging for a long period.”
The Chief Local Elected Officials, or CLEOs, are comprised of designated County Commissioners and include:
– Commissioner Wayne R. Brosius, Clarion County
– Commissioner Robert Snyder, Forest County
– Commissioner Chip Abramovic, Venango County
– Commissioner Tricia Durbin, Warren County
– Commissioner Eric Henry Crawford County
– County Executive Brenton Davis Erie County
For more information on the workforce development board, go to
www. PACarearLink.pa. gov.
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