Jobs agency also a recruiting partner

Workforce One is helping economic development efforts.

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By Chelsey Levinsgton, Staff Writer 9:04 PM Saturday, February 4, 2012

Butler County Workforce One is teaming up with city, township and the county economic development departments to bring new businesses to the county, said its acting director.

The job placement agency’s services to match employers and job seekers can save companies money, said Adam Jones, acting division director of Workforce One.

Workforce One offers free services such as interview space, job opening advertisements, recruiting, distribution and acceptance of applications, pre-screening and testing for employers, Jones said. A company hiring about 100 employees that needs those services done can save a total about $22,000 in labor, costs, facilities and advertising by using Workforce One, he said.

“We have a lot of services, but I guess it’s marketing it appropriately so they can know what we can do,” Jones said.

Jones became acting division director the beginning of this year after Director Don Kell retired. He’s also a Fairfield city councilman. Workforce One’s free computer rooms, resume help, layoff response and job training programs have put it at the forefront of the jobs crisis.

Butler County’s unemployment rate on average in 2011 was 9 percent, down from an average 9.6 in 2010, according to preliminary estimates released in January by Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Jones said efforts in these areas can lower the county’s unemployment rate this year:

• Layoff aversion.

• Reducing the time to re-employment.

• Business retention.

• Business growth and industry attraction.

He said officials need to be proactive to keep businesses here before layoffs happen.

“Send surveys out to businesses. How happy are you with the city?” he said.

A concerning response back can be an early warning indicator.

If it’s too late and a business is already closing, then those people need to be re-employed immediately, he said. One way Butler County is attacking that is by applying for grants for transition centers, on site places workers can come to get training and job search help. For example, Workforce One opened a transition center at Mohawk Papers’ union hall to help Hamilton Mohawk and SMART Papers workers facing layoffs.

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