Unlocking The Future:
Career Center Helps Residents Find Work

By Shams Tarek

Walk into the Workforce1 “One-Stop Career Center” in downtown Jamaica, and the unemployment blues start to go away.

A complete list of services offered at Workforce 1 can be found online at www.nyc.gov/html/wia/ (shown). Workforce1 is a New York City Career Center, offering governmental and non-profit assistance.

The spacious, high-tech and three years old facility is a nexus for about a dozen City, State and federal agencies all looking to help people find a job . . . whether they’re unemployed or just looking for something better.

Run by the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) and the only one of its kind in the borough, the Center will be closed this Labor Day, as it is every first Monday of September.

But it’s sure to be full again on Tuesday, when some of the thousands of people who use the center every year will start streaming back, looking for that elusive job.

The director of the Center, Philippa L. Karteron, said the number of people using its services has been steadily rising since it opened three years ago.

Sept. 11, 2001 brought a big spike in users, especially laid-off airline workers.  Many were placed in other airport jobs, including ones created by the AirTrain JFK light rail system which is expected to start service by the end of this year.

Karteron admitted times are tough but wasn’t sure that the economy is the only factor bringing more and more people to her center for help.  More awareness about the center, she said, may be contributing, too.

The Workforce1 Center serves two main groups of clients, which it calls “customers.”

First there are the businesses — small and large — that use the Center to get labor market information, take advantage of workshops run by the SBS and find employees.

Over 100 workers were ferried through the Center for operations and maintenance jobs for the AirTrain project last year, and companies like Home Depot, Washington Mutual and the Long Island Jewish Medical Center use the center to find its local employees.

But most of the Workforce1 Center’s customers fall into the second group — individuals looking for jobs.

They’re a diverse bunch, according to Karteron, who said the center’s customers are of all ages, from teenagers to sexagenarians, and all races. The staff speaks half a dozen languages and they help get people the help they need.

These customers are diverse in educational and professional background, too, Karteron added.  While most haven’t graduated high school, a large proportion have and some even have bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees from college.

Despite the commercial lingo, all services at the center are provided by government or non-profit agencies and are completely free. And they offer a full range through various computer labs, resource libraries and workshops.

But the Center doesn’t stop at job placement. Any person walking through their door can get immigration counseling if necessary, take English and GED classes, get health care and substance abuse advice, learn how to make a resume, read books about careers and peruse job banks, then use the center’s equipment to send emails and faxes and make copies.

All of it is free.

“We’re here, we’re available and we’d like to help anyone that needs our services,” Karteron said.  “The theme is universal access . . . . we’re happy to help anyone we can.”

The sprawling Workforce1 Center, which shares a floor with the Department of Motor Vehicles on 91st Avenue and 168th Street, has an impressive array of high-tech equipment, roomy work and open spaces, and bright, clean environments.

The Resource Room — the most popular part of the Center — has about 20 computers with high-speed internet connections, including a particularly futuristic workstation designed specifically for people with disabilities.  There are also fax machines and telephones on hand.

A separate resume lab has eight computers — soon to be 10 — set up specifically for making and printing the critical one-page histories.  A staff member is on hand full time to help users with their columns and their bullets.

Another computer room with 20 computers — soon to be replaced with brand new models — is used by the SBS and State Education Department for daily classes.

There are over a dozen agencies with a presence at the Workforce1 Center.  Following is a list of some of the agencies with a summary of the services they offer and to whom.  For complete information, call or visit the center:

Department of Small Business Services

Services: Employment assessment and counseling; job placement and training; self-employment assistance

Eligibility: 18 years old; terminated or laid off

Human Resources Administration

Services: Child and health care information; food stamp information; public assistance information

Eligibility: 18 years old; authorized to work in United States

NYS Department of Labor

Services: Unemployment Insurance orientation, placement and job training; veteran benefits; job readiness workshops and classes; tax credit certification

Eligibility: 16 years old; authorized to work in United States

Jamaica Service Program for Older Adults

Services: Job placement and counseling; on the job training; additional support services for seniors

Eligibility: 55 years old; Queens resident; low income for some programs

NYC Department of Youth and Community Development

Services: Tutoring and remedial education; youth and naturalization counseling; health care; substance abuse prevention; runaway and homeless programs

Eligibility: 14-21 years old; low income; deficient in basic literacy skills.

For more information about the borough’s Workforce1 One-Stop Career Center, call or visit the New York City Workforce1 Career Center, Queens at 168-46 91st Ave., 2nd Floor in Jamaica, NY 11432.

The centers open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and can be reached at (718) 557-6755.

To get much of the information ferried by the center to its customers from the comfort of your own home, visit the city’s comprehensive Workforce1 website at www.nyc.gov/html/wia/.

There are scores of pages of information on the site, and an equal amount of links to other agencies for more help.