The following agencies can assist residents with employment and/or further training. There is no cost for their services.
Supports to Encourage Low-Income Families (SELF)
Services: JOBS NOW!, an employment program focused on removing barriers to getting a job. Individualized supports include: transportation, clothing, resume assistance, interview skills, incentives for class completion, and lots of encouragement. More info: 513-863-9300
Skills Central
Services: creating resumes; identifying suitable job postings; completing online applications; conducting mock interviews; identifying training programs; connecting with school advisors. More info: 513-863-0800, ext. 33; skillscentral@fuse.net
Butler Behavioral Health Workplace Associates
Helps people with disabilities find, get, and keep employment. Services include: career counseling; job development and placement; and job coaching. More info: 513-867-5400, ext.3170
Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities
Helps people with disabilities. Services include: vocational assessment and counseling; placement and rehabilitation technology training. More info: 513-852-3260
Community Behavioral Health
Helps eligible clients address barriers to employment and search for a job that suits their abilities and needs. More info: 513-785-6509
Butler County Veteran Services
Helps veterans with their job search. Refers veterans to other services. More info: 513-785-6500
Butler County Youth Services, Easter Seals Tristate
Helps people ages 16-24 who meet income criteria. Services include: tutoring in reading, math, and computer technology; connection to area employers; training in specialized occupational areas. More info: 513-785-6521
Mature Services
Helps people 55 years old and older. Services include: employment skills development; paid internships; vocational assessment; rehabilitation technology training. More info: 513-924-9100
Ohio Means Jobs-Butler County
Primarily self-help with some assistance. Hosts job fairs with multiple employers. Resource Room provides access to computers, telephone, copy machine, fax machine. More info: 513-785-6500
Throughout Butler County, several programs and agencies are available to help match residents to available jobs as well as learn the new skills needed for in-demand careers.
The state added 18,300 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate inched up to 5.1 percent as thousands of Ohioans poured back into the labor force looking for work, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported last week.
The number of Ohioans working or actively seeking work rose by 36,000 last month to nearly 5.8 million, according to the jobs report, following labor force gains of 34,000 in February and 28,000 in January.
Among the programs available to residents on the search for work is Skills Central, which provides Hamilton-area adults one-on-one counseling and referral services to help them get the qualifications they need for in-demand jobs.
The initiative, supported by the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and the Hamilton Community Foundation, focuses on helping unemployed and underemployed individuals who are searching for work, but need help with a resume, interview skills, training opportunities and information about available jobs.
The help is free, according to Skills Central Director Joel Fink.
“Some of the folks that may be in this program have been working for 20 or 30 years, have been downsized, have never had to navigate the world of higher education, are scared of how to do that,” Fink previously told the Journal-News.
The organization can also refer people to other agencies that help veterans, seniors and people with disabilities.
In Fairfield, OhioMeansJobs Butler County continues to schedule job fairs in order to provide opportunities for those seeking jobs.
Stewart Leonard, agency manager OhioMeansJobs Butler County, said the agency typically has an average of 200 visitors a day.
“Our last job fair here at OhioMeansJobs we had 38 employers and 138 job seekers,” he said. “The employers were happy with the candidates who attended and many job seekers did get offers.”
Community Behavioral Health, which provides employment assistance services among its many offerings, has a special workshop for those who need assistance finding a job.
“Through our five-day workshop, clients will learn how to find, secure and maintain employment through resume building, mock interviews and workplace education,” said Jodi Fritsch of Community Behavioral Health.
Beth Race, director of programming for Supports to Encourage Low Income Families (SELF), said the agency has an employment program called JOBS NOW! that helps remove barriers to finding employment.
“We really focus on removing the barriers to getting and keeping a job,”Race said. “We will help prepare them for their interview, with their applications and also help with transportation and technology.”
She said that SELF, for the first four to six weeks after a person has completed the JOBS NOW! program and finds a job, will provide transportation to and from work and will also, thanks to partnership with Dress for Success, help with clothing for work.
SELF will be starting a new JOBS NOW! workshop April 28 in Hamilton and one May 31 in Middletown.
“We still have five slots open for the April 28 workshop,” Race said, adding that anyone interested in the program should contact Sheree Hampton at 513-820-5004 or email info@selfhelps.org.
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