Panel offers employment tips

A panel discussion on hiring potential employees and helping employers centered on the local job market that will require thousands of additional jobs in western Nevada.

Four representatives from various agencies that serve the Churchill County area recently informed business leaders at the last Churchill Economic Development Authority business breakfast of the services their firms provide.

Churchill County Librarian Carol Lloyd set the agenda before each panelist presented her overview. Earlier this year the library received a grant of $46,322 to develop an Information Technology Gateway Training (ITGT) program for Churchill County and surrounding rural areas. Training would certify students in CISCO networking, CISCO security, Microsoft certification and web design. Classes will start this summer.

Lloyd said classes begin in May and will extend into June 2017.

“I am thrilled about the project, thrilled about the grant and proud to be partners with so many people in the community,” she said.

Amber Bixby, branch manager for both the Fernley and Fallon Manpower offices, gave a history of the local franchise and said the same family has owned and operated Manpower in several Nevada cities since 1989. She said Manpower provides employees who are qualified for skilled or unskilled positions, full or part time, and permanent or temporary.

Additionally, she said Manpower assists employers, first by learning more about the company and what it offers.

Bixby, though, said Manpower has the ability to access more than 79,000 resumes.

“In the Fernley and Fallon areas, we have 483 people actually looking for jobs,” she said.

Ava Case, manager for Nevada JobConnect, Department of Employment and Training (DETR) for the rural areas, is based out of Fallon. Nevada JobConnect is a statewide network that connects businesses with employees, all in one convenient system.

Case said her agency assists prospective employees by teaching them resume building, improving their skills for jobs and partnering with businesses.

For employers, Case said JobConnect could conduct job fairs and prove the largest database of applicants in Nevada. She also discussed the Silver State Works, a program where employers can receive up to $2,000 per employee in incentive reimbursements or training allowances for new hires. She said the program is beneficial, especially for small businesses that need to hire an employee.

Additionally, Case said Nevada JobConnect can test prospective employees to determine their knowledge level for specific jobs.

According to Case, several agencies are housed in the same building on Industrial Way, so if Nevada JobConnect is unable to assist, she said prospective employees are then referred to another agency.

Michelle Melendy, director of the Fleet and Family Support Center at Naval Air Station Fallon, said the center provides services such as relocation assistance, new parent support, deployment services, clinical counseling services, financial management counseling, family employment services, family advocacy and the transition assistance programs.

Melendy said the Fleet and Family Support Center not only helps active-duty personnel who are transitioning out of the military but also assists retirees and dependents looking for employment at the air station or in the community. Like Manpower and Nevada JobConnect, her center also assists people with resume building and other services such as life skills, relocation information and financial skills.

“We offer a job fair and have an updated book of employment announcements,” she said.

Online programs that are available to the military are also helpful, Melendy said. One of the online resources provides information for spouses who want to work.

“We have great resources for spouses to keep a career going,” she said.

Western Nevada College hired Dr. Georgia White in October to direct the newly formed Career and Technical Education. White previously taught at the University of Nevada, Reno, left the area to pursuit her career but returned in August to Northern Nevada.

Once in her new position, White said she visited the areas that WNC serves and saw how the facilities are expanding services. She has already begun to work with local educators, such as Dr. Sandra Sheldon, superintendent of the Churchill County School District and high-school principal Kevin Lords for obtaining STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) grants.

“My job is one of service to our communities,” she said, “and how we can work together.”

White said if business leaders know of opportunities for training, they are encouraged to call the Fallon campus and talk to director Sherry Black. White also said she enjoys the partnerships that are forming with WNC.

“That’s another thing I love about this job,” she said.

With the recent employment surge in western Nevada, White said there is “a real demand” for employers to hire workers.