Whether you’re looking for a job or an employer looking for employees, CareerLink Carbon County can help.

Lisa Price, a program supervisor at the CareerLink Carbon County, recently told members of the Carbon Chamber & Economic Development Corp. what the center has to offer.

Price explained during a Women in Business Luncheon that the CareerLink is a partner of the American Jobs Center Network. It’s a one-stop cooperative partnership of organizations that provide career-related services, such as employment and training services for job-seekers, workshops, training and tuition assistance, re-employment services and eligibility assessment, as well as a summer youth employment program, programs for veterans, and services for employers.

“A lot of people think we’re only here for job seekers. We’re here for employers as well,” Price said.

Services include:

• One-on-one job search and resume assistance with a career adviser, as well as career and occupational information to help access all resources within a job seeker’s area.

• A Career Resource Center with computers, printers, fax machine and educational materials and free public Wi-Fi for people seeking work.

• On the PA CareerLink website people can create a resume, search for jobs and training programs, and get online career assessments. Metrix Learning SkillUp PA is a free online career training program.

• Information about occupational training and tuition assistance, GED programs, workshops, public assistant, and community resources.

Workshops

Price said the workshops can be taken either virtual or in-person at the Educational Opportunity Center.

In-person workshops offer information about building a resume, career decision making, interviewing skills, and matching skills with jobs in today’s workforce.

Virtual workshops include information about creating a resume, career decision making, interviewing skills, and matching skills to today’s workforce, as well as exploring the hot jobs of the future, financial aid basics, writing a college essay, college applications, paying for college, and careers in the medical field, manufacturing and logistics.

“We do a little combination of both. We do in-person and virtual so that way it gives the customer opportunity to do either or,” Price said.

Training and tuition

Training and tuition assistance is available through the funds from the U.S. Department of Labor and Industry under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The assistance can help pay for tuition, as well as costs for a variety of training in high priority occupations, such as nursing, medical assistants, medical billing and coding, CDL welding heavy equipment operations.

Price said that each county gets funding for specific types of jobs. If someone comes in and wants to get training in a field not funded in Carbon County, then she can refer the person to the county with the funding.

“With the Pocono counties - Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne - the four of us, we are all together in the same local workforce area,” Price said.

This means that these four counties can share funding, so a person from one of these counties can go to one of the other counties for training.

There are also opportunities for on-the-job training and apprenticeships, as well as funding for training for incumbent workers.

Incumbent workers are people who are employees of a company that will have layoffs. The funding reimburses for the cost of training by an employer or training provider.

Eligibility for training and tuition assistance programs is based on income, employment status, public assistance status, barriers to employment and other factors.

“The only way to determine eligibility is to start the application process through our CareerLink office,” Price said.

Programs for youth

CareerLink also has programs for youths looking for a summer job. The summer youth employment program provides people between the ages of 14 and 24 a chance to gain work experience, earn money and contribute to their community by working with various local organizations and businesses.

The program lasts for eight to 10 weeks and participants usually work 30 to 40 hours per week at $9 per hour. Eligibility is based on several factors including family size, income, barriers to employment, and other factors.

Employers

CareerLink provides a platform for employers to post job openings on its website. It also provides conference rooms for employers to interview potential candidates.

“The employers, we’re here for them,” Price said.

If an employer wants to hold a job fair, CareerLink can help with organizing one. CareerLink also provides resources to employers about labor market information, tax credit information, apprenticeships, federal bonding, and referral to other resources.

Rapid response

For employers who are reducing their workforce or closing their businesses, CareerLink offers Rapid Response Services through the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

The service includes networking events and employment and training assistance for workers being dislocated.

It also provides assistance to business partnerships in competitive markets, layoff aversion, and coordination of business closure to maximize public and private resources or re-employment of impacted workers.

“It’s a tough time for those people,” Price said.

Veterans

CareerLink provides services specific to veterans with barriers to employment, such as homelessness, disability, criminal background, or substance abuse.

One program is called the Transition Assistance Programs Services for people transitional out of military service into civilian life.

Another one is Veterans Priority of Service, which is for veterans and eligible spouses.

Unemployment

PA CareerLink is not the Unemployment Compensation Office, Price emphasized. Its staff are not trained in unemployment compensation law and practices. What they can do is provide access to computers to complete unemployment compensation requirements, she said.

They can also provide resources and guides on how to complete unemployment compensation tasks, fax paperwork to the unemployment compensation office, make copies of UC documents, and provide contact information for unemployment compensation.

They can’t access the unemployment compensation system to provide information on a claim or to correct problems with a UC account. They also can’t physically assist anyone with navigating the unemployment compensation website or filing a claim. And they can’t create or sign in to an individual’s UC account, Price said. They also can’t interpret for people what the contents of the unemployment compensation handbook mean, nor the website questions or any UC documents.

For people who are collecting unemployment compensation, there is an eligibility assessment for re-employment services. This is Pennsylvanian’s version of the federally mandated Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services System.

Price said the way it works is people meet with a CareerLink career adviser who introduces them to the services and programs provided by CareerLink. There are mandatory follow-up activities for all participants through workshops, training referrals, etc. These are important to follow up on because people can lose up to two weeks of unemployment compensation if they do not attend them.

Need more information

The CareerLink Carbon County moved in February to 50 E. Locust St., Suite 1 in Nesquehoning.

Lisa Price, a program supervisor at the CareerLink Carbon County, said the new location has better parking, and better accessible for people with disabilities.

• Phone number: 570-325-2701

• Email: staff@carboncareerlink.org.

• PA CareerLink website: www.carboncareerlink.org, www.pacareerlink.pa.gov

For other resources:

• Unemployment Compensation: 1-888-313-7284, www.uc.pa.gov, uchelp@pa.gov

• Career One-Stop: www.careeronestop.org

• Pocono Counties Workforce Investment Area: www.pcwia.org

PA CareerLink is a partner with the Bureau of Workforce Partnership and Operations, Carbon Career and Technical Institute – Adult Education Center, Carbon County Assistance Office, Carbon County Workforce Training for dislocated workers and youth, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Unemployment Compensation, and Veterans Employment and Training.

Funding is through:

• Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act – designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training and support activities. Title I – Workforce Development, Title III – employment and career services, Title IV – vocational rehabilitation;

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families – assists families with children when the parents or other responsible relatives cannot provide for children’s basic needs;

• Unemployment Compensation;

• Trade Adjustment Assistance Program;

• Jobs for Veterans State Grant – Veterans Employment and Training, and;

• Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.