Tri-Valley One-Stop Career Center Helps Local Businesses Meet Employment Needs

By Hacienda Network Staff Writer

The list of employment services available at the Tri-Valley One-Stop Career Center is endless, proving the center a valuable resource to businesses and community residents alike. Since 1998, the Tri-Valley One-Stop has offered employment resources to local businesses that include hiring, training and outplacement services, and to the general public for the purpose of seeking jobs, training or education, free of charge.

Located at 5020 Franklin Drive in Pleasanton, the center is easily accessible to employers and job seekers throughout the Tri-Valley. The One-Stop is a member of EASTBAY Works, a regional partnership designed to coordinate employment activities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, which is funded by the Department of Labor and the State of California. The One-Stop also works in partnership with local cities, chambers of commerce, community colleges, employers and other community-based organizations.

When it comes to helping businesses meet their employment needs, there is a variety of services available, according to Site Manager Tamara Gatewood-Johnson. "We provide many valuable services for businesses and we can help them determine which service best fits their needs."

According to Gatewood-Johnson, businesses use the One-Stop's recruiting services most. The One-Stop can pre-screen job applicants, provide on-site recruitment services, host job fairs and assist with writing job descriptions. "We also have a job board for posting local positions, in addition to offering online job postings."

The One-Stop has also collaborated with several local businesses for the purpose of employee recruitment. For example, the center participated in two major job fairs with Safeway Corporation, which led to over 800 applicant pre-screens and 323 hires. The One-Stop also coordinated an on-site recruitment event for Southwest Airlines, prescreening over 50 applicants.

A service used often by small and medium-sized businesses is the One-Stop's On-the-Job Training program. "We pay 50 percent of an employee's wages up to $5,000 to help employers with training costs," explains Gatewood-Johnson. "This is really helpful for small businesses that do not have training budgets."

The One-Stop's Rapid Response program can also provide outplacement services at no cost. One-Stop counselors are available to work with businesses and their employees in the event of displacement.

Finally, key business information is available through the One-Stop. The One-Stop has access to labor market information such as salary ranges and can connect businesses with other state resources for current labor and employment statistics. Many of these resources are available on the One-Stop's website, www.trivalleyonestop.com.

Businesses can get assistance and information about all the services available to them by contacting the One-Stop's Business Services Representative Pat Donovan at (925) 485-5264, or pdonovan@clpccd.org.

Visit the One-Stop's website at www.trivalleyonestop.com for information on all services for businesses, community residents, career events, and links to state and federal resources.

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