Oliver WorkZone staff looking for work
Last Updated on Thursday, 05 January 2012 20:51 Tuesday, 03 January 2012 00:00
It happens to the best of us.
The staff at Oliver’s WorkZone, who’ve worked hard to help others find employment, are now utilizing the same resources to find work of their own.
That’s because the office is closing on March 30 to make way for the new employment agency in town (Open Door Group), which opens in April.
“They (staff) have known about our decision since late May and are preparing their own futures in the same way that they currently assist clients,” said WorkZone manager Verlaine Murphy.
She noted that six staff members are directly affected by the closure.
Murphy said there will be no gap in services because all clients who are receiving services at WorkZone will have their files transferred to the new provider (if they have authorized this in writing).
Murphy gave some background which prompted the decision to close WorkZone.
The Ministry of Social Development spent the last couple of years working on a plan for a new employment program for BC. It soon became obvious that there was a need to reduce the duplication in employment services that were available to the public.
The ministry conducted extensive information sessions to explain its ideas and to secure feedback from those currently delivering services. In the spring of 2011 a request for proposals was published to establish who would be delivering services in 2012.
“Our company, VerTek Diversified Services Ltd, the operator of WorkZone, chose not to submit a proposal and consequently will be closing our WorkZone offices on Friday, March 30,” Murphy said.
The new provider will open for business on Monday, April 12 in the old Shopper’s Drug Mart building on 350th Avenue.
WorkZone has operated in Oliver since 2003, and prior to that it provided services under the name “Connections” in Oliver and Osoyoos.
In the last six years, WorkZone has recorded 73,902 visits to the Oliver office.
Murphy said a total of 1407 individuals have worked one-on-one with their staff to develop a plan to secure sustainable employment, and in that time they have recorded 1061 as having achieved employment.
“Since we only record a successful result if we are able to actually contact the employed individual directly, we know that the number of successful employment results is higher than that.”
Murphy said their numbers have varied with the economy and reached an all-time high in 2010.
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