MARTINSBURG — Local workers will soon have a new resource in their job hunting when a new career center that will house at least 10 employment service agencies opens for business.
With anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 local workers seeking employment in a given month, improving access to such resources is a growing need in the tri-county area, said Nicolas Diehl, the director of the Workforce West Virginia Career Center.
“We’re really, really excited to be able to get all these agencies in here,” Diehl said.
Before the development of the “one-stop” location, which is proposed in the state’s Workforce Investment Act, an individual seeking employment services would have had to visit six different places in Berkeley, Morgan and Jefferson counties to access all the services that make up the career center, Diehl said.
More than two years have been spent in developing the center in Martinsburg. The 25,000-square-foot center is located in the Shockey Commerce Center near Interstate 81. The building was formerly owned by General Motors.
The Eastern Panhandle is encompassed by the Region VII Workforce Investment Board and is the most recent region in the state to have a functional career center in its population hub, Diehl said.
The goal of Workforce West Virginia is to better serve the needs of the business community by providing a qualified, well-trained workforce, Diehl said, adding that he expects to improve both the exposure of agencies and their access to the public.
Agencies, including Workforce, began the process of moving into the newly remodeled center on Wednesday, and are preparing to be open for business at 8:30 a.m. on Monday.
At the front of the facility, a bank of computers will be available to the public for basic functions such as building resumes or completing basic skill assessments, Diehl said. An additional computer with special features will be available for those with disabilities, and the entire center complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, he added.
Offices will also house the Department of Rehabilitation Services, Manpower, Horizon Goodwill and MountainHeart Community Services.
Job Corps offices will help young adults seeking training and employment from within the center, while neighboring Telamon will occupy an additional office space where clients may access its services and food bank onsite, Diehl said.
A common conference room that businesses will be able to utilize for interviewing and other gatherings will also be available.
Diehl credited the Shockey Company with helping to ready the site.
“They’ve gone above and beyond what I thought any developer would do to get us in here,” he said.
The company also donated a desk for the center’s reception area and other furniture.
During the next few months, Diehl said, he hopes to add to the menu of services offered at the career center, including offering on-the-job training programs and providing assessments and testing services for small businesses.
“We hope to continue to have the support we have right now to provide services,” Diehl said.
While an open house at the new center will be held sometime in May, Diehl urges members of the public to stop by the facility and check it out.
The center will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays. More information is available by calling (304) 267-WORK.
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