By Beth Sluys
Northside News
Nestled along busy Aberg Avenue sits the Dane County Job Center, which offers career and employment support services through the Department of Workforce Development. The job center is focused on helping people with their job search and offers workshops in job-seeking skills such as resume writing and interviewing. The center also offers business services to help employers hire, retain and train workers.
Most of the services provided at the center are offered on a walk-in basis. Highly skilled and dedicated on-site staff offer one-to-one personal assistance to job seekers, and the center provides access to phones, computers for internet access, resume writing and job searching. It is their goal to remove barriers and create a well-linked, full-service environment to ensure success in finding employment.
Anyone seeking employment or job related support can visit or contact the center. They offer specialized services for veterans, seniors, dislocated workers and youth that are just entering the workforce.
“This is a great time for workers to find a job. Because of the low unemployment rate, employers are competing for employees,” said Mary Kauffman, employment and training supervisor at the Dane County Job Center. “We repeatedly hear from employers that they are looking for candidates who are reliable, dedicated and willing to learn. This is a trending shift from a few years ago when employers were requiring specific hard skills. Today they want someone who can professionally represent their company and take care of both their internal and external customers.”
Kauffman added, “In addition to job seekers coming to the center, we host area employers every week, which provides the opportunity for face-to-face conversations with prospective employers. We also conduct outreach to local schools to offer information about apprenticeships that allow students to earn while they learn. We will be hosting our job fair at the Alliant Energy Center Aug. 29. At our previous job fair, which we held in the spring, we managed to connect 175 employers with 1,400 job seekers. It was a very rewarding experience for us and for those who attended this event.”
The job center has a number of programs for young people seeking employment. Youth Apprenticeship, WI Career Pathways, Workbased Learning, Career Locker and Career Cruising are a few of the programs featured through their website. Middle College is a program offered by a partner agency, and the job center also offers workshops at area high schools for students gearing up to enter the workforce. WisConnect is another great resource for youth 16‒24 years old. It is an internet-based site dedicated to internships where employers can post their openings and students can post their resumes. Both employer and student can search for each other, making it doubly effective in finding a match.
The Dane County Job Center invites all workers, whether looking to start or change careers, to visit and get personal and focused assistance from an employment and training specialist who can help get you on the path to rewarding career. The job center is located at 1819 Aberg Ave., along with other workforce-related agencies, including WorkSmart, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Forward Services and other human services programs.
To post a resume or an employment opportunity or for more information about the Dane County Job Center and the programs mentioned in this article, visit their website at jobcenterofwisconsin.com or call 242-4882.