When it comes down to the dog-eat-dog world of competing for a job, it’s easy to procrastinate and make excuses . . . but not at the One Stop career shop in Jamaica.

"Every excuse we’ve heard over the years ‘I can’t get a job because of this or that,’ we’re trying to address all of that," explained Philippa Karteron, assistant deputy administrator for the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA), which is one of the government agencies joining forces to create the 33,000 square feet One Stop Career Center.

Opened last July, the Center is the result of a collaboration of the HRA, the New York City Department of Employment (DOE) and the New State Department of Labor (DOL). It’s located at 168-23 Jamaica Avenue and open for planning futures from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"The One Stop Center is like a shopping mall," said Karteron. "It has everything you need. It is fully coordinated for your convenience," she said.

Everything you need, according to the mandate of the One Stop, can include job training, a GED and English as a Second Language instruction (ESL) or even childcare assistance. It’s open to the general public regardless of income or education, Karteron said.

"The service is divided into three," she explained. "You go into the resource room and search the [internet], you go into the resume clinic and the Benefit Counseling Unit which tells people what they qualify for" . . . including childcare, food stamps or transportation.

"If there are any barriers to going to work, those are eliminated right here," explained Karteron. "We also want to ensure that all clients are job ready. Even the most educated people may not be job ready. We teach them everything from how to dress for an interview," she said.

The One Stop interface, according to Karteron, does not end when their customers get a job. The Center continues to support the client for up to a year. There is "intensive follow-up" and case managers who help both the customer and their new employer.

"If their childcare falls apart," said Karteron, "We assist them. It’s a service for the customer but also for the employer who suffers from turnover. We have a requirement to place the majority of applicants we serve and to ensure they keep those jobs for at least six months and earn a wage gain of at least $9,000 per year," she said.

According to Michael Josephson, regional director of DOL and manager of the Center, the focus is to get clients job ready and to have jobs ready for them at same time.

"Primarily we have America’s Job Bank and we maintain that bank and match people with jobs," said Josephson. "And we do follow up to see how people are doing. The idea of the One Stop is a proactive approach to support the job seeker."

If it is determined that a customer is job ready and there is an employer on site conducting interviews at that time, that customer may find themselves interviewed on the spot . . . if the job fits that applicant’s skills.

Josephson also explained that if you are unemployed, the first step is to call and get the application process underway immediately. Clients seeking to collect unemployment benefits no longer have to go to make the trip to DOL — now located at the Center — and stand on line to be served. The process has been simplified and they can now apply via the telephone. If they qualify they receive their first check in about two weeks after applying.

From filing unemployment to job placement, counselors at the One Stop Career Center are prepared to combat all the excuses surrounding getting a job. PRESS Photo By Marcia Moxam Comrie

However, in tandem with that first check is a letter inviting the cusotmer to come in for an orientation at the Center and avail themselves of the services to ensure a timely return to the work force before the benefits expire.

Kateron said, "It is incumbent upon us to get them into a job or a higher paying job as soon as possible."

According to Josephson, people by and large believe they have to be fired from a job in order to qualify for unemployment benefits. Not so, he told the PRESS . . . there are exceptions.

"If you quit because the terms of your employment has changed," you could qualify, he said. "If, for example, you were hired as a data entry clerk and are now being told to drive a truck or if the company is moving and you don’t want to relocate with them, you can qualify for benefits."

However, in the instance that a worker is being displaced because their company is moving to another country, they could qualify for moving expense or tools to start over, according to Josephson. Veterans of the Armed Forces also receive special services, Josephson said, and are counseled by other veterans at the Center.

Thanks to automation, the task of salary verification has also been eliminated. Wages are accessible through a computer program and easily accessible to counselors at the center, thereby making for a speedier first unemployment check.

Then, "We will turn ourselves inside out to get them employed," said Josephson.

For Karteron, the Center’s service of job training and job preparedness have to be seen in a larger context. They do more than provide jobs for displaced workers . . . they serve the entire community.

"Workforce development is the cornerstone of economic development," she said. "If we can make the workforce infinitely qualified, it becomes the engine to drive the local economy."

The One Stop Center is now in the process of screening and placing the first applicants for AirTrain-related jobs. The center is also engaged on an ongoing basis in providing its clients with jobs from entry level to management and is concerned with helping applicants currently employed "to move up and open up the bottom" for new workers.

The One Stop Career Center is located on the second floor of its Jamaica Avenue building and the number to apply for unemployment is 888-209-8124.