CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — The physical office of CareerLink in Clarion is long gone, but the services have a second life through a mobile approach and NWPA Job Connect.
“There is no physical CareerLink building in Clarion County,” said Carmine Camillo, mobile manager for Title One Services. “The services are now delivered by a mobile team that I oversee for the six-county Northwest Workforce Development area — Erie, Crawford, Venango, Clarion, Forest, and Warren County.”
Now six months into the switch to mobile services, Camillo thinks there are gradual improvements over the old physical office system.
“I think we’re getting better every day,” Camillo continued. “As the word starts to spread that we are still here, and in many ways, we are more convenient for you now, and we can meet you wherever you want. We were just it Clarion a couple of weeks ago and met with Clarion University, IU6, and the commissioners.”
Although Career Link doesn’t have a building, they do have a phone number, 1-844-333-5248, and anyone can call for services and a one-on-one appointment with staff.
“The whole point of being mobile is we can meet you wherever and whenever it is convenient,” Camillo continued. “Someone will answer the toll-free number and ask a lot of questions and what is it that we can do for you. If they can answer the question over the phone or meet CareerLink at various scheduled locations, but if that doesn’t work for you, we’re happy to make an appointment and visit you.”
There is a CareerLink every Wednesday at the Clarion Mall across from the old K-Mart, and they are at the Small Business Development Center at the Barnes Center every Tuesday holding workshops. CareerLinks also does workshops in various places, including the Clarion Free Library and New Bethlehem.
“We’re trying to work with several of the libraries in Clarion County to host workshops. It will be a revolving circuit when we will be in the library one week here, one week there, and all on different topics. Topics could include anything from what is the CareerLink to resume writing and even basic computing skills.”
Mobile and flexibility are the keywords for the new CareerLink.
“If they can’t make it out to the Clarion Mall on a Wednesday, they can meet us in Rimersburg at 2:00 p.m. at the same time, depending on where you live in Clarion County. If you’re heading to Tionesta one day, and if you have something going on there, we can meet you in Forest County. If you have to go into Oil City for any reason, we can also meet you there.”
Camillo will have a staff of 10 when he completes training and the caseworkers travel around the six counties in the region.
“We have facilitators that run the workshops and engage sessions. We have facilitators that are dedicated to youth, adults, and dislocated workers. We have a combination of staff that can meet different constituents. For example, our staff is engaged in conducting workshops for the K-Mart workers laid off. The workshops include how to polish a resume, how to prepare an interview, and that kind of thing.”
For more information for both employers and potential employees, use the toll-free number or go to CareerLink’s web page at https://nwpajobconnect.org.
