One Stop Shopping For Employers: Mercer County Career Center

Mercer Business, Apr 01, 2005 by Roberts, Russell

In the frantically paced modern world, people constantly on the go seek to do as much as possible in as few stops as possible. Thus, home improvement stores offer everything from nails to nursery supplies, drug stores sell videos and milk as well as medicine, and service stations provide both gas and groceries, all in an effort to try and get things done quickly and conveniently.

Mercer County business owners might be interested in knowing that there is a one-stop location for them too, that will help them with many of their employment needs. It's operated by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and is called the Mercer County One-Stop Career Center.

Help Wanted

It used to be that hiring employees was almost an afterthought for many private business owners, particularly if the business was small enough. They stuck a "Help Wanted" sign in the window and waited for the new hire to come sauntering through the front door. Usually, they could count on someone seeing the sign and asking for the job, especially in lean economic times. The type of person they got was entirely happenstance, but often personalized training and supervision could fix any problems and fill in any knowledge gaps.

Not so today. Business owners are besieged by myriad problems, and often need to spend all their time simply keeping the business running. Precious little is left for the hiring process, and particularly personalized training. While "Help Wanted" signs still work in cartoons, a far more sophisticated workplace demands far more sophisticated methods. One-Stop Career Centers are state government's answer to those demands.

The mission of One-Stop Career Centers is to connect jobs and qualified workers. Just like with retail one-stops, the point behind One-Stop Career Centers is to unify all work-related programs in state government in one place.

"Now that all work-related programs in state government are offered by a single agency, it's faster and easier to make that connection (between jobs and qualified workers)," said Anthony Chiesa, the Mercer County One-Stop Career Center Account Executive. The Account Executive (AE) works with the business community to help businesses and workers remain competitive in a national and global economy. The AE also forms partnerships with local community and faith-based organizations to better serve the needs of the community.

Spearheaded by the AE, the One-Stop Career Centers seek to help private sector businesses by taking over much of the burden of finding the right employees for the right jobs. Any business owner seeking employees can easily call on the OneSto-Career Centers to help fill their employment needs.

Go to Work For You

Chiesa pointed out that business owners have many pressing demands on their time and attention. "Don't let the task of searching for qualified staff take you away from running your business. Let your local One-Stop Career Center customize an employee recruitment plan that works for you.

To get the One-Stop Career Center ball rolling, a business owner merely has to identify a job that needs to be filled and then contact the nearest One-Stop Career Center by calling, faxing, or e-mailing the job opening information to them. The Mercer County One-Stop Career Center is located at 26 Yard Avenue in Trenton (609-292-0620. (Call 1-877-US2-JOBS [1877-872-5627] to find the location of the nearest One-Stop Career Center.)

Once armed with the job information, said Chiesa, "We go to work for you." This includes:

* Posting the job opening online, where interested job seekers can view it any time of [the] day or night through www.wnjpin.net.

* Searching the state employment database - a veritable gold mine of New Jersey job seekers - for qualified workers.

* Either conducting, or helping the business conduct, positive recruitment activities such as job fairs and interviews at the local One-Stop Career Center.

* Then, once likely employment candidates are identified, the One-Stop Career Center can prescreen them using the criteria of the business. The center will refer the best possible matches to the business. It can then interview them either at their facility, or in a meeting room at the center's location.

"Then all you have to do is hire your new employee," said Chiesa. "The hiring decision is yours."

Aftermath

The One-Stop Career Centers do not just limit their involvement to the hiring process, however. Besides supporting the efforts of the business to find skilled workers, the center also offers programs to offset the costs of training employees.

Chiesa said, "We can tell you about customized training grants, work opportunity tax credits, and on-the-job-training reimbursement, and help you apply."

The One-Stop center offers an additional alternative for those who prefer to do things themselves, but still would like the benefits of expert assistance.

"If you prefer to manage the process yourself, you can post jobs on-line and search resumes 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Chiesa. "Just register as an employer on www.wnjpin.net."