Mayor Eric Garcetti celebrated the opening of a new WorkSource Portal this week in Southeast Los Angeles that will bring enhanced job-search services to South Los Angeles residents.
The new portal, located at 5849 Crocker St., Unit X, Los Angeles, can be called at (323) 432-4399 or residents can drop in. The portal is an extension of a center that the United Auto Workers operate near Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards and is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Residents age 18 and older can drop in to utilize computers, check job listings or create/edit a resume. Those seeking specific job training or education programs must make an appointment.
Garcetti said the city of Los Angeles will invest $2.4 million in new job-training initiatives to help struggling Angelenos find work in high-demand industries. The mayor was joined by Councilmember Curren Price, Workforce Development Board President Charlie Woo, and city workforce representatives.
The high-demand industries include healthcare, advanced manufacturing, transportation, logistics, information technology, green construction and hospitality.
“For those who are having a challenging time in this competitive job market, help is on the way,” said Mayor Garcetti. “The portal’s full-time staff will work with Angelenos to build résumés, practice interviews, and prepare not just for jobs, but for careers. I’ve worked closely with the City Council and the Workforce Development System to establish 19 WorkSource centers and portals, which have now connected more than 90,000 residents to employment services.”
While WorkSource Centers are devoted exclusively to helping Angelenos find jobs, the portals are designed to expand the range of services delivered by existing non-profits and resource centers in high-need communities.
The portal will be co-located at the old Weber bread factory with Homeless Outreach Program’s Integrated Care System (HOPICS). HOPICS has helped 4,000 community members with housing, healthcare, behavioral health and re-entry services. With the addition of a WorkSource portal, administered by the city’s Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWDD), the factory will now offer employment resources, becoming a one-stop-shop that links residents with the services they need. EWDD oversees 17 WorkSource Centers across the city, with a growing number of portals in key locations such as libraries and neighborhoods with high unemployment.
The new Career Resource Center at the Southeast L.A. portal provides free computer access, which can be used to search 150,000 job openings through JobsLA.org, write resumes and submit job applications. Trained staff will also provide one-on-one career assessments and, if needed, referrals to job training.
“The Southeast L.A. WorkSource portal signals new hope in our community, which continues to be disproportionately affected by poverty and unemployment,” said Councilmember Curren D. Price Jr. “That is why for the past two years, I’ve actively supported local projects that promote economic opportunity, job creation and the small business community. Still, more needs to be done. We need more visionary thinking, innovative partnerships like the one we’re seeing today and the community coming together to create long-term change. I look forward to collaborating with our partners so that we can provide our South L.A. residents all of the resources and assistance they need to thrive.”
Mayor Garcetti also announced $2.4 million in funding to help continue revamping the city’s workforce system.
WorkSource Centers now focus career training on L.A.’s high-demand industries, and using prior years’ savings of federal workforce dollars, $750,000 will be targeted to individuals reentering the job market after incarceration, another $750,000 will assist vulnerable populations, including homeless, foster youth, and transgender residents. An additional $600,000 will increase the pool of industry-driven job training, and $300,000 will be used to customize workshops for small- and medium-sized businesses, which are the back bone of L.A.’s economy.
“L.A.’s unemployment rate is 6.2 percent (11 percent for Blacks as of December 2015), and there are still too many people struggling to find employment, said Charlie Woo, Workforce Development Board President. “These initiatives refocus on our neediest and most under-represented Angeleno job seekers.”
