Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corporation

Youth Builders Create Affordable Housing

thower — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:45:00 +0000

Students in Northumberland County are honing their skills while helping to create affordable housing. Click here to see video.

Deputy Secretary: 1500 Here Will Lose Jobless Benefits by December

thower — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:31:24 +0000

The local unemployment rate fell by 0.02 percent to 9.5 percent in July, consistent with the national rate, but higher than the state’s rate of 9.3 percent. With unemployment numbers still near 10 percent, and slim to no chances of another extension on unemployment benefits, a wave of people will exhaust 99 weeks of unemployment benefits in December, according to Dr. Robert G. Garraty, state deputy secretary for workforce development. Click here to view article (PDF).

Job Agency to Meet Penn Lyon Workers

thower — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:02:33 +0000

Let’s say you are a carpenter working for a modular home company, married and a father of two, living in the Selinsgrove area. You have a mortgage, plus all the usual expenses a family might have, such as food, clothing, utilities and getting orthodontic braces for the children. Then you find out that, because the housing market continues to struggle, your company is closing down production. What do you do? Click here to view article (PDF).

Leaders See Job Growth from Shale

thower — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:30:11 +0000

There were about 9,100 people unemployed in the Valley in July. And likely that number will rise when the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry releases its August unemployment figures for Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties. Some have said the future of employment in the Valley might lay underground, in the form of natural gas. Companies tapping the Marcellus Shale, a geological formation 5,000 to 8,000 feet down estimated to contain tril lions of cubic feet of natural gas, are hiring.

“They’re good-paying jobs,” said Sue Snyder, administrator of the Pennsylvania CareerLink office in Selinsgrove. The problem: The bulk of the 150 jobs available are in counties many miles away, such as Lycoming, Tioga and Bradford. A single job related to natural gas drilling — a tractor-trailer driver for JP Donmoyer — is in Northumberland County. “Most people tell us they don’t want to travel more than 20 minutes from home,” Snyder said. “But with the number of factories closing, they’re having to travel farther, and they’re not used to that mindset.”

As the economy goes through its slow growth pangs, that mindset likely will have to change. Click here to view article (PDF).

Habitat Dedicates New Columbia Home

lseward — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:17:31 +0000

Five months ago, the plot of land at 562 New Columbia Road was vacant. Now it’s the site of a brand-new three-bedroom house, and on Saturday the neighborhood was bursting with activity as friends, family and Habitat for Humanity volunteers welcomed Rob and Amanda Friend and their two children into their newly built home.

Thanks to a dedicated group of Habitat volunteers, including several area young adults working through Central Pennsylvania YouthBuild, the Friends will move out of their cramped apartment in Bloomsburg and into a place they can call home. Click here to view article (PDF).

2,200 face end of jobless aid

lseward — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:16:36 +0000

The more than 2,200 Valley residents expected to exhaust their unemployment compensation by the end of the year may be fearing how they will survive without an income, while community service agencies are wondering how they’ll be able to keep up with the cries for help from the rising numbers of those in dire financial need. Click here to view article (PDF).

After Training, Still Scrambling for Employment

lseward — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:28:59 +0000

The following New York Times article has elicited strong reactions not only from workforce professionals, but others in the press as well. The article is presented here for information and links are provided to worthwhile rebuttals posted by members of the press.

In what was beginning to feel like a previous life, Israel Valle had earned $18 an hour as an executive assistant to a designer at a prominent fashion label. Now, he was jobless and struggling to find work. He decided to invest in upgrading his skills. Click here to view the full article (PDF).

Rebuttals:

Job Training Helps, Just Not with Unemployment - Daniel Indiviglio, staff editor at TheAtlantic.com

Does Job Retraining Work? – Barbara Kiviat, business and economics reporter for TIME

Editorial: Laudable Way to Work

lseward — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:44:15 +0000

Most Americans recognize that we have a basic humanitarian obligation to help out-of-work Americans make ends meets. At the same time, many may have suspicions that a hard-to-define number of jobless people while away their time collecting government payments without really trying to find work. Click here to view article (PDF).

Stimulus funds helps hundreds to land jobs

lseward — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:51:10 +0000

More than 300 youths and adults in Snyder, Union and Northumberland counties have found employment through the 2010 Way to Work Initiative funded with $1.5 million in stimulus money. Click here to view article (PDF).

Building homes, futures

lseward — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:25:25 +0000

A graduation ceremony for YouthBuild was held Thursday evening for twelve individuals at the Northumberland County Career and Arts Center. The program is for young adults, ages 18 and 24, who have dropped out of school and lack the necessary education and skills to participate in the labor market. Click here to view article (PDF).