Too often, people are stuck in dead-end jobs, or just simply do not like what they are doing, but don’t know where to go to look for another job or how to find out what it is they really want to do. The Hudson County Schools of Technology Career Development Center is not just for people who are unemployed are unable to find work. This one-stop employment center also caters to people who are looking to change jobs.
The center, located in the Rite Aid building on 48th Street and Broadway in Union City, offers services from computer job searches and access to a fax machine to computer literacy courses and career counseling.
“We are here to support the residents of the county,” said Business Customer Representative Dennis Pizzuto. “In whatever their job needs may be. We are not just for unemployed people.”
The center is federally funded as part of the Workforce Investment Act, and offers free services to all Hudson County residents.
Two other one-stop career centers are located in Jersey City. There is one on Summit Avenue and there’s one on Newark Avenue that only services residents of Jersey City.
“We handle the balance of the county and sometimes Jersey City residents,” said Director of One Stop Operations in the Union City center Howard Thompson.
“[Our location is] geographically within walking distance of five municipalities,” added Thompson about the center’s convenience.
The center also has an office in Union City’s City Hall. Thompson added that the center is in the process of opening a satellite location in Harrison to service West Hudson County.
Finding the perfect career
Before clients even sits in front of the computers to begin a search, they are interviewed and discuss exactly what their job search needs are. The clients are then referred to a career counselor or begin to search for jobs on one of the 11 computers set up for client use.
The center has five career counselors on site.
“The focus now is on assessing the clients’ needs and then getting them back into the labor force,” said Thompson.
Clients are able to take basic skills testing where they can find out their reading and math levels as well as an “interest inventory” test. From these tests, counselors are able to match you with the career that you would be most qualified for and enjoy.
“If you are qualified,” said Thompson. “We are going to get you back out there.”
The center has a 19-computer classroom where they teach computer literacy courses in conjunction with Hudson County Community College. This is a 13-week course where you learn how to use Microsoft Word and Internet skills.
However, if a counselor feels that a client needs further assistance to become qualified in a particular field, he or she can refer you to a state approved school such as the Chubb Institute or Lincoln Technical School. Clients must meet the states economically disadvantaged eligibility criteria in order to attend these schools free of charge.
The criteria for economically disadvantaged eligibility depends on the income of the person and the amount of people in the person’s family.
Helping employers help you
The center also works with employers to better provide job placement for the clients.
“We want to get employers to use our facility here when looking for employees,” said Pizzuto.
While some companies already fax their job postings directly to the center, Pizzuto is hoping that more employers will also do the same.
“Employers fax job postings to us and then we can pass them along to our clients here,” said Pizzuto. The center’s classrooms are also open to employers to use as a training site for their employees or for orientations.
The center also holds job fairs where they bring in about 12 employers. The last job fair brought employers such as Walgreens and the Embassy Suites to interview their clients. The center will hold its next job fair on Jan. 25.
Working with schools
The center also works with many of the high schools in the community. The center sponsors a youth program with Hudson County Community College’s Culinary Arts program.
This program allows high school students to learn culinary arts and find employment in the food industry. The center also sponsors Project Jump-Start. This project is for people who have graduated from vocational schools and are in need of the basic skills needed to attend a community college or other institute for higher education.