American Job Center Representatives Lisa Powers, left and Alex Newport, right, spoke at the Campbell County Rotary Club Luncheon on Tuesday.

By Charlotte Underwood

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- Campbell County Rotarians learned about the American Job Center Tennessee and its programs available to help with job searches, training, transportation assistance and more! At Tuesday’s weekly luncheon at the La Follette Methodist Church, Lisa Powers and Alex Newport addressed Rotarians about these programs and talked about the how the staff at the local American Job Center can assist.

The job center can help recent graduates looking for work and can also assist older employees looking for a career change. They also have programs designed for “veterans returning to civilian life, a senior 55 or older wanting to update work skills” and so much more.

They provide free access to computers and Internet, telephones, and fax machines and “job seekers can attend on-site recruiting events, workshops on resumé writing, interviewing skills, and job search activities, or pursue more intensive training or certifications for occupations that are in demand.”

These programs are provided by the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act, which is a Title I funded program. The job center has an adult program, a dislocated worker program and a youth program. Each program has different criteria for each program.

All 95 Tennessee counties are served by an American Job Center.

Lisa Powers and Alex Newport addressed Rotarians about these programs and shared how the staff at the local American Job Center can assist.

The job center in Campbell County is located at 1016 Main Street, “right beside the Health Department” in Jacksboro. 

“We have many different programs; we help with resumes, we help with job search, we have resource rooms where people can come in and do their unemployment. We can’t do it for you, but we can direct you and can guide you and send you in the right direction,” Powers said.

She also described some of the basic aid that the programs can provide.

Lisa Powers with the American Job Center Tennessee spoke at Tuesday’s Rotary Club meeting about the many programs designed to help employees find work. For more information, call the American Job Center Campbell County location at 423.566.3300.

“We can help students or people looking for work. If somebody comes in 18 or older, they are considered an adult, if they have a barrier to work, we can enroll them and help them go to school. We can pay tuition cost, we can pay travel, we can pay childcare depending on the funding we have at the time and what the need is of the student. We have quite a few students that go to TCAT right now that come in monthly, and they pick up a check for $150 and they bring us a travel form and we assist those people to get back and forth to work. Childcare works about the same way. We have 2,400 in the budget for childcare per program year and we are limited on what we can do with our funding. We have a dislocated worker program and if you are drawing unemployment, you are automatically eligible for our program, and we can help you look for jobs. We can give you money depending upon our job search criteria,” Powers said.

She also talked about the youth program, which can provide “paid work experience and can pay someone up to $3,000 to work at a site and that gives them experience.”

“Our youth criteria is a little different, if they are parenting youth 24 and under, they automatically eligible, if they are a high school dropout 24 and under, if they have been justice involved 24 and under, they are automatically eligible, foster kid, those barriers to going to school and employment, they are automatically eligible for our program and we have a lot of success stories that we have helped people from getting their adult education, to getting their training and employment and that’s what we’re there for,” Powers said.

Alex Newport spoke about a Senior program for 55 and older adults who are unemployed.

The program can provide job leads to employers in the area, it can provide occupational training, workshops, referrals, on the job training that is paid and much more.

“We can place you at a host agency that will train you for four years, where you will learn technology and skills all for free and we pay 7.25 an hour for 25 hours a week so they get paid training,” Newport said. This program serves Scott, Morgan, Campbell, Claiborne and Union counties/

“I love what I do; I love helping people and seeing their success,” Newport said.

Each American Job Center offers digital labor market information, free Internet access, workshops, job placement, recruitment, training, and assistance with jobs. Stop by your local center to get started today. Call 423.566.3300 for more information. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED- 09/25/2024-6AM)

Related