Dec 5, 2007

What we're working with

By KATY KORKOS Monitor Reporter

More than 30 agencies and individuals will gather at the University of New Mexico–Los Alamos (UNM-LA) Thursday to support area workers who are subject to layoffs from Los Alamos National Laboratory and others who are affected by a downturn in the local economy.

The fair will be held from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in UNM-LA’s Student Service Building 2, at 4000 University Drive.

Services range from entrepreneurial advice to state assistance for filing for unemployment, with a wide range of information in between.

Stress management, emergency funds and emergency services, religious guidance and information about Alcoholics Anonymous will also be available, among many other services.

“The purpose of the fair is to bring partner agencies together to raise public awareness of the availability and scope of program resources for human services, employment and economic development for citizens of Los Alamos and surrounding communities,” said Joan Story of the New Mexico Workforce Connection.

The service fair is offered free of charge to the public, and there is no booth fee for participating agencies.

“We have a mass collection of resources, and we’re trying to raise awareness for services in the community,” Story said. “People don’t know what’s out there – they don’t know where to turn for help.”

Story is a career development specialist with 15 years’ professional experience in the field. Through the Workforce Connection’s One Stop, located at UNM-LA, she provides help with resume writing, interviews and training, as well as a wide range of resources for job-seekers and those contemplating career change.

The New Mexico Workforce Connection, Northern Area, is funded by the Northern Area Local Workforce Development Board. The northern area One Stops are located in Santa Fe, Espanola, Los Alamos, Taos, Las Vegas, Mora, Raton, Farmington, Gallup and Grants.

The One Stops offer free career and placement services to employers and unemployed and dislocated workers in the 10-county area.

The fair is sponsored by the University of New Mexico–Los Alamos, the New Mexico Workforce Connections, Northern Area, SER Jobs for Progress, the Northern Area Local Workforce Development board and the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation.

For more information on the community services fair, call Story at the Workforce Connection, 662-5919, ext. 607.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would just love to see the list of jobs. No doubt such prime employment as:

WalMart Greeter
McDonalds Counter Person

Anonymous said...

"Stress management, emergency funds and emergency services, religious guidance and information about Alcoholics Anonymous will also be available, among many other services."

In case you had any doubts about the current mood here in Los Alamos, this passage in the Monitor article should help clear things up for you.

Eric said...

I went to one of these at Northern New Mexico Community College about a year ago.

About 60% of the jobs mentioned were at Casinos. Most of the rest were in construction. All were in Northern New Mexico or Albuquerque.

Very few out of state, technical, or high skill level administration jobs were mentioned.

The people running it were nice and helpful. The selection of jobs was more local and lower level than I expected it to be.

Just a thought.

Anonymous said...

A graded approach, 7:15. This is still the voluntary phase. Many of these services might be in higher demand during the involuntary phases.

Anonymous said...

Alas, 1:20 PM, I have to agree with you. The stress and malaise only gets worse for most LANL workers from this point until the end of the fiscal year. We may not be far from the point that rumors and gossip abound about so-and-so who had their home foreclosed upon, food bank shortages, etc.

I hope things improve by next year. This community can't take much more of the current situation.

Anonymous said...

I wonder how long it will be until we start hearing the following:

"No MORE rifs, and no MORE plans for a rif" (Mikey)

Anonymous said...

Gus,

I had an idea for a new post:

"Would you do it all over again?"

If you knew from the start that all this was going to happen, would you still have signed up for the lab? Looking back, was it worth the effort serving your country here?

Anonymous said...

Go back further than that 2:28. Would you even have studied science, engineering,...?