Those in need of free employment training and services didn't have to fret a bit when former employment helper Management & Training Corporation shut it doors on a closing contract. Opened just down the street in the former J.C. Penney location is Tillamook Work Solutions, an office of worksystems, inc.
According to their website at www.worksystems.org, "worksystems inc. is working to make the local workforce the best in the world by the year 2010. In October 1997, the chief elected officials of Multnomah County, Washington County and the City of Portland joined with leaders from business, labor, and education to create worksystems inc. Their purpose was to envision and implement a world class workforce development system in our region. In 1999, Tillamook joined the three jurisdictions to pursue shared objectives.
"Like the world economy, our workforce system is changing rapidly, and worksystems inc. and its community partners are playing a major role in the effort to make our local workforce equal to any in the world by the year 2010. We are working hard to: Develop a better understanding of how our regional labor market is evolving. Advocate for improved local, state, and national workforce policies. Align existing public and private education and training efforts into a more coordinated regional system. Establish performance measures to analyze the system's effectiveness, and the value of an excellent workforce system. We are committed to helping build a system that continuously meets the needs of employers and workers alike. Nothing less will meet demands of the dynamic economy of the 21st century."
Though the address and name on the door have changed, the people inside and the work they perform have not. The staff of Tillamook Work Solutions are the same people who staffed the MTC office. All six employees were former employees at the MTC office, for differing periods of time, and all came to work for Work Solutions.
The staff works with as many as 150 clients at any one time and the clients come from all walks of life, skill levels, and range of job skills. Clients may be male or female and as young as 14 or as old as anyone still willing to work. Clients generally work with staff anywhere from one appointment to as long as it takes to reach their goals. They have free computer Internet access for job searches, hold job skills classes, stock a resource room with skill-building and research materials, and even conduct mock interviews every other Wednesday. Small business owners and larger business managers volunteer their time to conduct the mock interviews and critique the clients on their interview skills.
Free scheduled workshops may be one hour to weeks long and there is no minimum number to hold the class. If even one client shows up, they will continue with the workshop.
Example classes during September include Keyboarding/computers, Developing Capable People, Life Skills, Customer Service, Office Skills I, Applications and Resumes II, Cover Letters, Interviewing and Thank You Letters.
The difference between their services and those of the Oregon Employment Department, says assistant manager Rachelle Metcalfe, is "We work more with the people themselves, and we train them specifically for their employers." LCB
Tillamook Work Solutions
Contact: Rachelle Metcalfe, asst. mgr.
Address: 301 Main Street
Tillamook, Oregon 97141
Telephone: 503/842-3244
Fax: 503/842-3747
e-mail: metcalfe@worksystems.org
Website: www.worksystems.org
Hours: M - F, 8a - 5p
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