Now that they’ve settled into their new home on Jacklin Road, the WorkLink Employment Society is propping open their doors to show it off.
Next Thursday, April 16, from 4 to 7 p.m., Jennifer Harrison and the entire West Shore WorkBC crew will be on hand to talk to anyone interested about the programs and supports they offer.
“Everyone knows someone who is either unhappy at their job or needs work,” Harrison says.
That’s why there’s a wide variety of services available at the centre – from resumé building workshops to networking events, job fairs to application assistance and everything in between.
“It’s really a complicated thing nowadays,” Harrison says. “Looking for work is a full-time job, and it’s our full-time job to help people with theirs in any way that we can. The main thing I want people to know is that they really don’t have to job search alone.”
It’s true that finding work is an entirely different animal these days. Many employers, Harrison says, won’t even accept resumés that show up out of the blue, from people pounding the pavement.
It’s important for job-searchers to know how to navigate the jobs marketplace in order to be successful in finding an employment fit.
“We stay connected to the employers so we can make sure we know what they want from prospective employees and how they want to hear from them. We know where the jobs are and how to help people get them.”
The centre isn’t just for future employees, however. It can be a valuable resource for employers, as well.
From time to time, Harrison says, they have workshops and forums for business owners to help them with their hiring practices, facilitated by human resources professionals and experts in the field.
They can also connect employers to training grants for their employees or other programs that can help their endeavour succeed.
And then there are the not-infrequent job fairs, where employers and job-seekers can come together to see who should work together and how they can make that happen.
There’s another of those slated for early May, and Harrison would love to speak to interested people about it at the open house next Thursday.
“We’re not a placement agency,” she says, “We empower people to find jobs. Come down and let us show you how we do that.”