Jason Caputo 0:01 Hello, and welcome. You're listening to the Alaska Department of Labor and workforce development podcast series, where you'll hear all about how the department helps Alaskan workers, job seekers, businesses and communities. I'm Jason Caputo, and my guest is Demetria Veasy, Employment Services Manager three. And we're going to be talking today about job center services. Demetria thank you so much for joining me today. Demetria Veasy 0:27 Thank you for having me. Jason Caputo 0:29 So we'll start with the most basic of questions that people will want to know what services do you provide a job centers to the public? Demetria Veasy 0:40 Well, probably one of the main services that we provide are to job seekers and employers. Every Job Center in the state has a resource room. And that's where job seekers can go to do their job search activities. There's computers, there are printers, there are fax machines, they're courtesy phones, for them to call employers, there's a line specifically to allow individuals to apply for unemployment insurance. When they go and pick up that phone, it takes them directly to the front of the queue, for them to talk to a an, excuse me, an employment services technician with UI to take their claim and answer any questions that they may have about unemployment, and to even open a claim anything that they need for their job search paper for printers, and then their staff on site that will help with their job search as well help them navigate different employment sites, help them with their resume, cover letter, you name it. And then we've got a business connection unit that provides direct services to employers. And they help employers with all of their recruiting efforts. Staff in our Business Services Unit also, they facilitate all of our job fairs, and all of our recruiting efforts when we're open to the public, which we are not right now. But when we're open to the public, we also have as many on site recruitments as we possibly can, where we have employers come directly to the Job Center to recruit people for their openings. And we encourage as many people that are using our services to go and talk to those employers. There are some job centers that have interviewing rooms where employers can interview people on site as well. And then our Business Services Unit, you know, also helps employers just, you know, use other methods for finding the workers that they need, and introduce them to other programs that will benefit them as an employer. And then we've got a career support and training services unit. That unit provides or administer state and federal funding to help individuals that need degrees, certifications or licensing in order to obtain and maintain employment. Specifically here in our Midtown Job Center, we have a seafood office. And I say that because we're the only job center that has a seafood office. And in our seafood office here, though, that staff provide services to employers and job seekers specifically for the seafood industry. And then there's the mature Alaskan seeking skills training program. That's a program that provides job training for older workers, ages 55 and above. And then we've got the jobs for veteran state grant where we provide services to veterans that have significant barriers to employment. So anything that has to do with finding a job, we have a program that will help an individual. Jason Caputo 3:53 That's amazing. That's amazing. So to two really distinct groups there that I heard you've got job seekers and a whole bunch of stuff for job seekers, but also a bunch of services for businesses as well as job seekers. Are you recovering people who maybe are really need some introductory help, or some real basic help of computers and just basic things to kind of interviewing help, but then also people who need some specialized help, like use talked about certain certification and licensing, and then older workers and veterans as well, which is fantastic. And I know that, as you said, You're closed. The job centers are closed to the public completely. Demetria Veasy 4:38 Yes closed at this point. Completely close to the public. However, we are still helping people to do is call call your local Job Center. And there's somebody available as we've got people answering the phone Monday through Friday, eight to five. If you need help with your resume, we've got staff that will help you with your resume. We totally understand that with hours, Jobs centers being closed. There are limited services for individuals that don't have a computer at home. So our staff are helping people apply for jobs online, if necessary. So if there's a if there's a job seeker that does not have the technology at home, they don't have internet or they don't have a computer, if they call their local Job Center, there's an employment services technician, that will help them with any of their job search needs. They'll look for jobs that might best fit them, they will talk about who is currently hiring for those jobs. Recommend, you know, if they're looking for a retail job, and they want to apply for what Walmart, they'll pull up that Walmart's application and they'll fill that out for them online for them. Jason Caputo 5:47 Wow, that's amazing. I was just going to assume that those computer type services couldn't be provided. But you actually as long as the person has a phone or can use a phone to call, you can actually do the computering for them. Yes, that's fantastic. And employers obviously can call and get access to services that you talked about as well, Demetria Veasy 6:07 Absolutely. If we have an employer that needs to, you know, fill a position and they need help posting that position in Alaska jobs, then anyone in our Business Services Unit can help them with that. Jason Caputo 6:21 That's fantastic. That's really great. Um, I know that the job centers, do a lot of workshops, usually when they're open. And I'm assuming you guys have virtual workshops. Demetria Veasy 6:35 Yes, Yes, we do. Yes, we do. We've got, um, we have a resume writing workshop. So we're using zoom as our platform for those. And so right now, if, if so, let me just tell you first the workshops that we have available. So we've got the resume writing workshop, we've got interviewing skills workshop, we have a workshop that introduces job seekers to our new labor exchange system, AlaskaJobs. I'm pretty sure most people are very familiar with Alexis, Alexis was around for about a decade. But starting in the beginning of July, we switched over to a labor a new labor exchange system. Not everybody is familiar with that system yet. So we have a workshop, that gives a really good introduction on how to register in the workshop, how to look for jobs, how to use the virtual recruiter that and just, you know, to familiarize our job seekers, in those in the community, even those that we partner with in the community, just how to use that site to great workshop. We also have a workshop for workplace Alaska, the state of Alaska job bank. And then we also have a workshop for employment after incarceration, because, you know, one of another one of our target, populations are re-entrance. And it is our goal to help as many re-entrants that are coming out of the justice system to get back into the community and find a good job. And because we know that that helps to reduce recidivism. And so to access those workshops, all you have to do is call your local Job Center. And let them know which workshop you would like to attend. And they will sign you up for him. And just either the morning of, or the day before the workshop, the job seeker will receive an email with the zoom link. And so it's pretty easy, pretty easy to participate. Jason Caputo 8:37 Awesome. That's great. Is there a place online for people to go to see a list of the workshops that are available? Demetria Veasy 8:44 There is a flyer online, in our directly on our site? If you go to there is a flyer online. Jason Caputo 8:59 And we can what we'll do is I'll get that link from you. And we'll put that link to that right in the description of this podcast. Demetria Veasy 9:05 Perfect. Perfect. Yes. So there's that there's a flyer in our job fair and recruitment site. And that flier gives the list of all of those workshops and it gives a description of each workshop as well. And then gives you a number that you can call to register. Jason Caputo 9:21 Oh, fantastic. Okay, great. We will make sure so if you're interested in the workshop, so you can't remember some of them, there are so many but they really covering all the bases there will have a link to that list in the description. So here, here's something I know a lot of people are also interested in if someone needs, say funding to get training they need they need help paying for this training. How do you approach that? How would they apply for funding or what are their sources for that kind of thing? Demetria Veasy 9:52 Yes, yes, there are. I mean, the best thing to do is just to call your local Job Center and just do this describe to whoever answers the phone, that you're looking for funding for training. For example, if you want to get your CDL, just call your local Job Center and say, Hey, I'm interested in getting a CDL. But I need help funding it, they'll know exactly how to direct you from there. So they'll talk to you about the intake process, the next step will be for you to work with someone in the career support and training services unit, they'll talk to you, they'll do an assessment, they will, you know, walk you through what is required in order for them to be able to make an eligibility determination to see if you are indeed eligible for one of those grant funded programs. And then from there, they will if you're deemed eligible, then they'll start that with that eligibility process, enrolling you in the program writing an employment plan. They're letting you know how much funding you're going to receive, if there are other support services that you may be eligible for. So that program, you know, not only do Can we help pay for training, but we can help with other support type services, for example, you know, if someone needs tools for work, we might be able to assist with that. If someone needs clothes for work, we may be able to assist with that. There's other type of support services, housing, transportation, you know, all needs based however, there are, there are multiple different ways that we can support someone in their training and employment endeavors. It's all individually lies based on need. That case manager takes a holistic approach to helping each individual and making sure that we're helping them you know, overcome any barriers, that's going to keep them from being able to start a training program, successfully completed and successfully get to work. Jason Caputo 11:55 So it's totally comprehensive there. It's not just the starting it, but it's getting through it successfully, absolutely getting that job. And so, basically, to summarize, for those of you out there, if you're if you are looking for work, and you're having trouble paying for some of the things, affording some of the things that you need for work or even related things like well, you need stable housing in order to show up at a job stably. It's worth it to give that Job entre a call. And they'll ask you the questions and walk you through what might be available to help you in all those ways. That's really a broad range of services. That's absolutely impressive. Demetria Veasy 12:37 Yeah, absolutely. And if there's if there's something that we cannot assist with, then we're going to help refer them to the resources available in the community that may be able to assist them. If we cannot provide all of the funding, we're going to see if there's other resources in the community if there are other agencies in the community that we can partner with, to help leverage as much funding for that participant as we possibly can. We partner with Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, we, we partner with Ninestar, we partner with AVTEC. I mean, we partner with many other agencies throughout the community. And together, we do the best that we can to help that individual not have to take out loans not have to come out of pocket. Sometimes it's necessary, but if we can prevent it, that is always the end goal. Jason Caputo 13:27 That's fantastic. So really, and I've heard this I've heard Job Centers kind of talked about is almost like the heart of the system of helping people it's kind of a central place where you can you have a bunch of stuff you can do directly, that you talked about some services, but also your staff knows about all these other resources as well. And not to say that there may or may not be funding out there for a given person, but it's there, there really is, it would be crazy not to give a call and find out if people are eligible for this because and they only have to call one place, which is the Job Center, which is fantastic. Demetria Veasy 14:05 Yes, sir. Jason Caputo 14:06 And speaking of that, we will put a link to the contact information for the job centers, the different job centers in the description as well. (https://jobs.alaska.gov/offices/) So yeah, so many services or job seekers, but I know you also serve employers really well to talk about some of the other benefits for employers, why would they What do they get when they work with the Job Center. Demetria Veasy 14:31 So you know, there's some tax credits for a job for employers. You know, if they call and work with our business services team, our business services team is going to introduce them to some of those tax credits. For example, there's the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Anytime an employer hires someone that is low income and may be receiving food stamps or any other type of public assistance type program, there may be a tax credit available to them, if they hire someone with a criminal background, there may be a tax credit available to them, if they hire a veteran, there are tax credits available to them. And our Business Services Unit educates employers on what those tax credits are, and how they can apply for those tax credits. We also have a fidelity bonding program. And our Business Services Unit will educate employers on that program, if they hire someone that is high risk, we help them to get bonded, which is not very difficult. I think we start out at $5,000 bonds, and it can go up from there if necessary. And you know, more than anything, we just we have, you know, a system that has 1000s and 1000s of job seekers in our database, we can do candidate searches, if an employer has a position that they've been having a hard time filling, if they're working really closely with our Business Services Unit, we can help with candidate searches. And also work with our career support and training services unit, if they've got I mean, they've got a their case managers. And so if there's, they might have someone that they're working with that getting the type of certifications and license or training that employ your needs. And if we're working together internally, which we do all the time, and then we can do some job matching. So there are, you know, multiple things that our Business Services Unit can offer to an employer, if the best of all, is all those services are free. And so, you know, we all love, love to access resources that are free. Jason Caputo 16:50 Well, especially when you're talking about I mean, here's, you know, with the tax credits, just starting with that, that's free money that all employer has to do, or business owners to kind of call up and find out, hey, what might I be eligible for? And then, of course, I think that is also several standout services. But that idea that job centers are already working with people who are going there to get licenses and to get training and to get, you know, those that type of rare training that's hard to recruit for but employers calling a Job Center, they get direct access to those people who are on the path. So you kind of kind of like early access to these people who are maybe they don't have the license yet, but they're on the path to get it. Oh, that's fantastic. So kind of on that theme of helping employers find fill those jobs that they really need. Do you have an idea? Can you give us some tips or some hints on what are the hot jobs right now. Demetria Veasy 17:53 Healthcare, Jason Caputo 17:55 here's the inside scoop. Of course, Demetria Veasy 17:57 Healthcare, anything in the medical industry is still growing strong. There's still a lot of opportunities for nurses for nurse aides, medical assistants, personal care attendants. We've got several employers that are hiring personal care attendants or caregivers right now. There's still a lot of administrative jobs. The university has some high hiring needs right now. We just did a pretty large recruitment for them virtual recruitment for them for their multiple vacancies and that's that was for UAA, UAF and University of Alaska, South East. There's a lot of social service jobs out there. I was just looking earlier, and there were a lot of jobs for behavioral health aides. So anyone that's looking to get into the mental health side of the medical field, there are several behavioral health aide positions available. And of course, retail is always high, especially this time of year. We're entering into our seasonal Alaska, the very seasonal state, we're entering into our seasonal season. So there's going to be an increase in retail jobs for the summer. We are also we've got some massive recruitments going on right now in our seafood industry. We've got several seafood employers that have high hiring needs for seafood processors. And then of course, this is the time of year where there's a lot of landscaping. So we have several employers that are looking for landscapers in some of those labor type jobs and for landscaping. Jason Caputo 19:40 That’s a very wide variety. I wasn't expecting such a wide variety of careers. That's that surprised me. I knew health care. I know that's always a big one. Everywhere, not only in Alaska, but boy, there's a whole bunch. So I know that that you really describe the services so well to both businesses and to jobs. seekers. So I know people are going to want to connect, when they hear this, how many job centers are there state wide? And how are people the best way for people to connect with those Job Centers, Demetria Veasy 20:13 There are 14 jobs center statewide. So that's too many to name. However, there's another link that we can add, that will take people directly to our site and list out all of those job centers. And the contact information for all of those job centers will be there as well. Jason Caputo 20:35 Perfect, perfect. Well, is there is there anything else that you wanted to add? We've covered so much, but was there any, any other things that we missed that you'd like to talk about? Demetria Veasy 20:45 No, I would just like to say that if you need help, if you've been, if you're feeling yourself frustrated, looking for a job, please don't feel like you have to do it alone. There are resources available to you. They're free. And we hire people that love people. And so just don't hesitate to call, please just call your local Job Center and allow our employment service technicians that are well trained in how to help you navigate to this very difficult market right now. And but it is our goal to help everybody that comes to us be successful in their job search endeavors. So please just give us a call. Jason Caputo 21:33 Yeah, thank you for saying that. I mean, that that may be the most valuable service of all at this during this time is so stressful for people. And sometimes you feel like you're just on your own out there, you know, trying to make things work and trying to face your challenges. But it's good to know that the job centers are there. They serve everybody, everybody. And, and so you can just have someone there to help you if you give them a call. And again, we're going to have that information in the on how to contact those job centers in the description. So this has been the Alaska Department of Labor and workforce development podcast. Thank you, Demetria for talking with us today about the job center services for job seekers and businesses. And thank you, listeners for joining us. We hope you found the show informative, and that you'll join us for our next podcast. Thank you Transcribed by https://otter.ai