2014 CAREERS EDITION
SW Washington Agency to Help
Long-Term Unemployed
Of The Skanner News
D
ave Josephson spent his career
working in commercial construc-
tion; until the jobs disappeared.
He was laid off in October 2011. Out of
work for nearly a year, Josephson had to
learn how to job search, write a resume
and highlight his transferable skills dur-
ing job interviews. With a team of coun-
selor and trainers at WorkSource helping
every step of the way, Josephson found a
new career path. Today, he’s the Assistant
Fleet and Facilities Manager at Fort
Vancouver Regional Library District.
Contact WorkSource
in Clark County at
360-735-5000
“I was going to change my career path;
I just did not know how to get there,” said
Dave Josephson. “Thank goodness I
stopped in to WorkSource to get an under-
standing of the types of services they pro-
vide.”
WorkSource will use a $325,000 grant
from the Southwest Washington
Workforce Development Council to pro-
vide services to 75 individuals who have
been unemployed for 27 weeks or more.
The money is part of a $4 million Rapid
Response grant distributed to the state’s
12 workforce development councils this
week by the Governor’s office to help get
long-term unemployed individuals back
to work.
With the funds, WorkSource will pro-
vide job placement services, coaching,
work-based training (on-the-job training,
supported work experience, internships),
and short-term intensive skills training to
individuals in Clark, Cowlitz and
Wahkiakum counties.
On-the-job training and supported work
experience offset some of the employer’s
hiring costs. For example, OJT reimburs-
es the company for a portion of the
trainee’s salary as they learn skills cus-
tomized to that business. Funds will also
be available for new employees to obtain
certifications or other trainings the busi-
ness requires for them to be hired.
“WorkSource has a vast array of servic-
es available to job seekers and has suc-
cessfully helped many long-term unem-
ployed individuals find jobs,” said John
Vanderkin, SWWDC Board vice-chair
and president of Employers Overload.
“But many continue to need assistance
and these funds will help us provide serv-
ices to additional individuals.”
Individuals who have been out of work
for several months sometimes face bias
from employers. As President Obama
mentioned during a speech in January,
these individuals have significant educa-
tion and experience and can greatly bene-
fit a company.
“Dave is a wonderful asset not just to
our facilities department but to the entire
district,” said Nancy Tessman, FVRL
executive director. “We would have been
happy to connect with a future employee
like Dave no matter how he found us.”
She continued, “But, we’re appreciative
that WorkSource was there - as it has been
for a number of our employees - to sup-
port and encourage him in pursuing a
position with us.”
Businesses looking for employees can
contact Darcy Hoffman at the Vancouver
WorkSource office at 360-735-5038 or
dhoffman@esd.wa.gov or Tina Cruz at
the Kelso WorkSource office at 360-578-
4254 or tcruz@esd.wa.gov for free assis-
tance writing job descriptions, posting job
openings and screening candidates.
Individuals looking for jobs should con-
tact WorkSource in Clark County at 360-
735-5000 and in Cowlitz and Wahkiakum
counties at 360-577-2250 to learn about
no-cost programs that will help them gain
the necessary skills to be competitive in
today’s job market.
We honor the many
accomplishments of
African Americans.
WSU
continued from page 9
versity is renowned for its personal
approach to education that enhances the
intellectual, creative and practical abilities
of its students.
Campus resources
The 351-acre campus features 14 build-
ings that span out from the landmark
Firstenburg Family Fountain and quadran-
gle. Students benefit from state-of-the-art
technology, fabrication labs, science
research labs, group instruction labs, fine
arts labs, a circuits and microprocessors
lab, computer-aided drafting lab and writ-
ing center.
WSU Vancouver’s library has more than
800 journals in hardcopy and more than
9,000 full-text online journals and news-
papers, a core collection of more than
30,000 books and access to more than 100
major bibliographic databases. The library
participates in several local and regional
library consortia.
Student life
There is currently no on-campus hous-
ing, but WSU Vancouver offers many
activities and events during the day and
evenings. The school boasts an active stu-
dent government and more than 50 recog-
nized student organizations that make it
easy for students to connect with others
who share their passion. Student organiza-
tions may be academic, cultural, political,
recreational, spiritual, service-oriented,
social or special interest.
Weekend snowboarding/skiing, hiking
and rock climbing trips, and intramural
sports offer balance to academic pursuits.
The campus also features six miles of
pedestrian and biking trails, a fitness cen-
ter and multipurpose court and sports
fields.
The opening of Firstenburg Student
Commons in the fall of 2007 marked a
change in student life on the campus. The
Commons provides a central place for stu-
dents to congregate. It is equipped with
games and three 52-inch LCD TVs.
A 25-year success story
How well does WSU Vancouver serve
its community and the local economy?
These facts provide the best testimonial:
Since its establishment in 1989, WSU
Vancouver has graduated more than 9,500
alumni, of whom 75 percent currently live
and work in the Vancouver/Portland area.
Washington State University Vancouver
vancouver.wsu.edu, 360-546-WSUV
Captain
continued from page 6
homeless kids attending the Community Transitional School. It always strikes me at
that jail facility there is a multiracial community of employees that, even despite the
difficult conditions they might work in, make a major effort to give back to local fam-
ilies. Can you just talk about the community of people who work at the jail facilities?
Peterson: It’s not just a black and white type of element. We have pastors, we have
teachers to come here to get a job and make a difference among inmates, it’s one of
those things that has attracted people from all over the place. We have people from
countries such as the Ukraine, Romania, Panama, Eastern European Counties, and
Cuba, as well as people across the United States. What they’re finding is this is a job,
especially in corrections, that gives you a livable wage to be able to take vacations, take
care of your family. A lot of people don’t understand that’s huge in today’s economy.
So they get an incredible opportunity.
TSN: What are some of the jobs there that people don’t
realize exist?
Peterson: Within just the context of the Sheriff’s office,
we have EPTs, Auxiliary Service Equipment Property
Technicians in our agency. These are civilian staff who are
responsible for inmate property and inmate funds. They’re
responsible for laundry deliveries of clean linen and cloth-
‘This is a job that gives you a
livable wage to be able to
take vacations, take care of
your family’
ing for inmates and warehousing supplies for the entire
Sheriff’s Office as well as running the commissary opera-
tion to allow inmates to purchase personal items and
snacks.
The records unit, that’s another one that’s non-sworn.
They put in warrants, they help with setting up prisoner
transports, calculate release dates, monitor Federal prison-
er, manage mug shot and create computer records for
inmates. I work closely with the medical staff — a lot of
people don’t know that there are actually doctors and nurs-
es, CNAs and psychologist who help us make sure the
inmates are healthy and doing well. There are jobs in
human resources, finance, electronic services, facility secu-
rity, counseling services for inmates along with office assis-
tants that help with administrative duties.
It’s been a really interesting 27 years. I never thought it
would get to captain, but it’s a blessing and an honor.
For more information about applying for jobs with the
Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department, go to
http://web.multco.us/jobs.
Page 10 The Skanner News Careers Edition May 21, 2014