Work United Initiative Launched

In light of today's Department of Labor announcement that our region's unemployment rate is now 9.3%, we want to let everyone know that we're committed at the ARCC to doing our part to help be a resource in these challenging times. With this in mind, we are proud to be a member of a coalition of local organizations that have launched a new “Work United” initiative - - an eight part action strategy to mobilize the community to provide support and assistance to those who now find themselves unemployed.

The Work United initiative came together as a result of a series of meetings hosted locally by the ARCC to evaluate programs and services offered to those who are looking for a job. The coalition of organizations includes private, public, and nonprofit organizations and is still growing as others volunteer to help. The initial task force members included individuals from ACC, the United Way, the ARCC, the One-Stop Career Centers in Warren and Washington Counties, the Post Star and Keena Staffing.

The specific actions in the Work United initiative include:

• Promote Local One Stop Career Centers – The Warren and Washington County One Stop Career Centers provide the most extensive list of services to those who are unemployed. They are the lead local agencies providing support and assistance to those who are unemployed in our region. The Task Force shall seek to make use of all relevant media outlets and the opportunity for public service announcements to increase the usage and understanding locally of the services, programs, seminars and workshops offered by these centers and where to access them.

• Create a Comprehensive Online Resource Guide – The Career Centers shall share with the task force their current list of websites available to assist local job seekers. The list shall be shared with the task force to add additional websites with a focus on promoting local resources. This website list shall be designed as a resource document and combined with the Live United Resource Guide prepared in 2008. The updated resource document will be shared with the community via the Post Star, distribution to ARCC members, via students at ACC, via job seekers at the Career Centers, and to all United Way agencies and other nonprofits providing services to local residents. As part of this effort, the ARCC will compile a list of local libraries and other such organizations that provide local residents with free access to computers and the Internet plus their hours of operation. The guides should be posted in these locations, if possible.

• Host Career Center programs after-hours – The ACC Career Center will lead an effort to use the models created by the One Stop Career Centers to host and promote a range of programs after 5:00 p.m. to determine whether or not such services are valuable to a particular segment of the community that cannot access such services during the day. Initially, ACC will put together a “Hidden Jobs Workshop” and an “Employer Spotlight Workshop” after hours in late-April or early-May to allow both students about to graduate and the general public with access to such information. A weekend program may also be considered to truly open up such great programs to those with challenging schedules.

• Pink Slip Parties – The ARCC shall host a “Pink Slip Party” for laid-off professionals in our region. To begin identifying job seekers that may be interested in this service, the ARCC will promote the fact that such events will be hosted starting in early-April at the Job Discovery job fair on March 19th. This after-hours networking event will be designed to create a more social atmosphere to allow for networking between employers and prospective employees following a successful model used in other metropolitan areas.

• Community Forums – Local organizations, such as St. Mary’s Church, for instance, have come forward offering their support for this initiative. They’re currently offering to host a community supper and to invite people who are unemployed to attend free of charge. At such a community forum, the task force shall work to assemble a range of speakers and exhibitors with information about local resources for those having trouble making ends meet as well as those in need of support for their job search.

• Community Volunteering – The United Way will lead an effort to explore the creation and marketing of local opportunities for unemployed individuals to volunteer in our community. Volunteer opportunities often times can be helpful to individuals looking for jobs in that they continue to be productive and feel better about themselves plus the organization they are serving is able to get things done that wouldn’t happen without this support. The volunteers may often times have the chance through such efforts to network with other professionals in a manner that creates new job leads and they may also gain new marketable skills while contributing their time and expertise. In addition, this effort will recognize and promote to those who volunteer that those collecting unemployment must be ready, willing and able to work at all times meaning that they must leave volunteer roles should an appropriate paid job become available.

• Local Advice – CBS 6 in Albany has created the CBS 6 Answers Team whereby a group of local experts in a particular field are scheduled to answer call-in questions on a set date at a set time from CBS 6 viewers. The questions and answers are recorded and posted online on the station’s website. Using this model, the task force shall attempt to create a similar opportunity for local individuals seeking job search assistance and support while unemployed. The Post Star will take the lead on creating an online portal where such questions can be emailed and referred by the ARCC to a local expert for an answer. The questions and answers may be posted online for others to read and may also be considered as content for articles and Q&A’s on its help wanted pages.

• Small Business Assistance – The ARCC has formed a small business assistance task force in order to coordinate services provided throughout our region to those who may be unemployed and thinking of starting up their own business. The programs available will be marketed collectively and include seminars, free business counseling, technical assistance, online support and access to local paid consultants with vast experience in a range of fields.

We'll keep you posted as these actions are implemented and new resources are created of value to local people looking for employment opportunities or other forms of assistance in these challenging times.