Workforce centers to change name, seek more one-on-one time with job seekers

June 15--Anna Gambucci's on-again, off-again job history has ranged from teaching school choir to singing the national anthem for the Minnesota Twins. After her divorce, the St. Paul mom found herself "sort of ... treading water, trying to figure out how to launch into the next phase professionally."

But the St. Paul Workforce Center on University Avenue opened her eyes to skills she didn't know she had -- "I can type 100 words a minute because I used to play piano!" -- and areas where she could use some skill-sharpening, like advanced spreadsheet work.

Gambucci soon enrolled in a free nonprofit program that trains workers for administrative jobs, and will begin a job shadow next week at St. Paul City Hall.

"This has been a game changer," Gambucci said. "Now I feel like I'm in launch trajectory."

Gambucci joined a who's who of public officials from St. Paul, Ramsey County and the state of Minnesota Thursday to celebrate the work of the workforce center.

The newly-remodeled space in the Griggs-Midway Building at 540 Fairview Ave. N. has been reorganized and downsized to create a less cavernous, impersonal feel. The filing cabinets are tucked away, creating new areas for one-on-one counseling.

The three St. Paul-area workforce centers -- and to various degrees, workforce centers across the state -- are rolling out a new way of doing things.

They've taken some criticism over the years for directing unemployed workers to banks of computers and leaving them to fend more or less for themselves, outside of the occasional group resume workshop or networking event.

That's changing, said St. Paul Workforce Center manager Mike Lang.

Partly as a result of new state and federal direction, Lang is emphasizing more one-on-one counseling, individualized resume help and other personal touches that aim to reduce the amount of time it takes to get the unemployed connected to the services they need.

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ON THE WEB: RamseyCounty.US/Workforce2017

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"It used to be way more focused on computers," Lang said. "Instead of 'Come back next week or next month,' it's 'Let's sit down and talk about your resume now.'"

In addition, Lang said a series of outreach events that are still being planned will meet workers in the community, instead of waiting for them to come to the centers.

The change in focus will become even more public in October when the 49 workforce centers across Minnesota undergo an official name and logo rebranding. Largely at the direction of the Governor's Workforce Development Board, they'll be known as "CareerForce Centers," a reflection of their emphasis on job services for workers at all career levels.

"We're really looking at careers -- not just getting people to jobs," said Butch Howard, who chairs the county's Workforce Innovation Board.

By day, Howard oversees restaurant and retail operations at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, and he said it's been gratifying over the years to see workers who have come through the workforce centers find steady employment at MSP and elsewhere.

He's encouraging more employers to take note. Despite Minnesota's low unemployment figures -- 3.3 percent statewide, compared to 4.1 percent nationally -- "we still have a lot of folks on the sidelines ... that need to get into the game," Howard said.

City officials call the changes overdue.

St. Paul Council Member Chris Tolbert, who sits on the county's Workforce Innovation Board, said the "state is moving forward in our workforce development, (which) we haven't seen in a long time."

Ramsey County Commissioner Toni Carter called the remodeled center a true "re-opening ... with a new focus."

MORE JOBS THAN WORKERS, BUT...

St. Paul and Ramsey County -- which joined forces in 2000 by merging their workforce boards -- direct job-seekers to three centers in downtown St. Paul, North St. Paul and at University and Fairview avenues along the Green Line.

Between them, they served more than 11,000 job-seekers last year, including 4,800 at the St. Paul Workforce Center alone.

State officials note that Minnesota as a whole has more than one job vacancy for every unemployed worker -- 120,000 job openings in total.

"We have more openings than we have people looking for work," said Shawntera Hardy, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Nevertheless, there's often a mismatch between the types of jobs offering gainful employment and the experience and skill-set of the unemployed.

"It's about reinventing (oneself) and removing barriers," Hardy said.

Transportation challenges pose a common problem, especially for low-income workers in urban areas who have trouble accessing jobs in the suburbs and exurbs, said Nicholas Perez, a St. Paul resident who manages JP Staffing on Rice Street, which specializes in light industrial and financial work.

He points to a Rosemount-based aluminum recycling company that is in the process of expanding, but it struggles to find enough workers to fill its existing positions, let alone staff the projected new openings.

"We need people all around. Every job that I get, it's difficult placing," Perez said. "The pool is so small, it's like everyone is trying to go after the same seven people. A lot of the disconnect I see is with skills and experience. Companies don't like to take a risk and bring in people who are bald."

While Minnesota's unemployment rate is low, the jobs most readily available for dislocated workers are often low-wage.

Leah Lewandowski, a career coach or "workforce development representative" with the St. Paul Workforce Center, sees many seniors who have been laid off and a have a tough time finding employment that pays a comparable salary, in part due to their lack of formal certifications.

"There's people who have climbed the ladder but have no degree, and now have lost their job," she said. "They're not ready to retire. They want to get back to those levels, but it's harder without a degree."

She encourages job seekers to think about concise but flattering self-marketing.

After 15 years with a life insurance company, Michelle Wilson found herself laid off. Lewandowski took a long look at her five-page resume and "tore it apart," trimming it to one and a half pages, said Wilson, who was grateful for the keen eye. She soon found employment with the state of Minnesota.

"Most of her great work was on page 2, 3 and 4," said Lewandowski. "In the five-to-seven seconds an employer looks at a resume, most people wouldn't see it. ... We forget our accomplishments. We remember our mistakes."

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