Workers displaced by recent business shutdowns had a chance to learn more about the training and benefit options available to them.
Representatives of Kansas WorkforceONE and he Kansas Department of Labor held a pair of sit-down presentations at Flint Hills Technical College’s main campus. WorkforceONE Digital Communications Coordinator Nadia Qureshi says events like this help workers who are strictly looking to get re-employed as fast as possible, as well as those who are using this opportunity to get retrained or prepare for other significant changes.
Qureshi says both departments try to gauge the workers’ goals and then guide them through different training options, while Labor representatives had information about working through the online and phone processes so affected workers can get the information they need.
Thursday’s sessions lead into the recently-announced Emporia Job and Resource Fair, scheduled for 11 am-2 pm March 25 at the Fairgrounds Anderson Building. Qureshi says the information seminars are designed to get workers comfortable for what lies ahead.
Both the retraining and unemployment benefit sessions held Thursday and the job fair later this month are designed to connect with area residents who have recently lost their jobs. One hundred thirty workers have either lost their jobs or will lose them in the next few weeks after Hopkins Manufacturing announced an immediate closure last month, while 45 workers are losing their jobs after ABZ Valve ends its operations in Madison by May. Kansas WorkforceONE has said it is trying to reach those workers, along with others areawide who have recently lost their jobs.
The March 25 job fair is free and open to the public. Qureshi will have more about the job fair during KVOE’s Newsmaker segment at 7:20 am Monday.
