Purpose
The One Stop Career Center System is a
network of physical locations where
individuals and businesses can get
employment related services and
assistance. As a whole, the purpose
of the one stop system is to assist
workers in preparing for and finding
employment or reemployment; and to assist
businesses in finding and retaining a
skilled workforce. A network of
approximately 81 one stop centers is
conveniently located across the state to
provide individuals and businesses with
services that are primarily free of
charge.
Each one stop center includes a resource
room with equipment available for all
customers to use such as: desk top
computers and printers, copiers, fax
machines, telephones. Resources
include on-line access to job banks,
e-learning tools, career guidance and
exploration and information on community
resources and programs. Each of the
full service one stop centers also has One
Stop staff and specially trained
employment counselors available to assist
job seeking customers with services and
access to products such as:
- Assessment of occupational skills and competencies
- Information about current labor market trends statewide and in their communities, jobs in demand, and wage information
- Access to short term training and skills workshops (e.g., resume preparation, interviewing skills, job finding skills, basic computer skills, financial literacy, etc.)
- Information and access to education/training providers and tuition assistance
- Work supports such as information and resources for transportation needs, child and elder care, healthcare, and other community assistance
- Career fairs - The Labor Department holds dozens of career fairs across the state each year. Career fairs give job seekers the opportunity to speak with several businesses and training providers in one setting, as well as receive services from one stop center staff and information from community partners. These events include information on job openings and training opportunities which can benefit both an employer looking to improve current staff skills, or job seekers looking to learn a new skill set. Additional services include: skills assessment, job matching, resume review, interviewing techniques and career counseling.
- JobZone - JobZone is a free, One-Stop online job search and career planning system for adults that helps individuals make informed career decisions and allows them to build an electronic career portfolio. JobZone provides information on 900 occupations matched with the latest labor market information from the NYS Department of Labor. The strength of JobZone is its ability to offer local and relevant content based on the individual’s interest and job seeking activities.
- CareerZone - CareerZone (www.nycareerzone.org) is similar to JobZone but geared toward youth. It offers direct access to in-depth career and education information for more than 800 occupations. Over one million youth in New York State access this system each year in the classroom and at home. CareerZone lists occupations, with detailed information such as job descriptions, estimated wages and job outlook for that occupation. Users can search and explore the career database by career interests, by career clusters, or by wages and educational level. More than 400 occupations have short video clips attached that demonstrate people working to give youth an idea of the tasks performed on the job.
- SMART 2010 – The Skills Matching and Referral Technology (SMART) is an electronic tool that reads a job seeker’s resume to extract their skills, work history and education and automatically scans New York’s job bank for potential job matches. SMART 2010 compares the customer’s information with current local job openings and looks for new matches whenever new jobs are posted, and e-mails the job leads directly to the job seeker. SMART 2010 uses a scoring method that represents the statistical probability of a match between the job posting and an individual’s resume. Instead of searching on keywords, SMART 2010 takes into account observed patterns of career transition in the labor market, the person’s career history as well as skills, duties, qualifications, etc. expressed in the job description and provides job matches or leads based on this intelligence. Most individuals who submit a resume into SMART 2010 receive several job leads a week.
The one stop system also provides services and information specifically for businesses. Business Service Representatives are available to help companies who are interested in:
- Seeking qualified job candidates
- Listing job openings with the one-stop system’s job bank
- Workforce training
- Workforce and economic data
- Information on tax incentives, unemployment insurance, the Federal Bonding program, alien certification, safety and health issues, layoff aversion strategies, layoff and transition services
- Interviews and customized recruitments - The one stop center provides businesses with space for interviews and can also arrange customized recruitments. Customized recruitments provide businesses an opportunity to get a better sense of the labor market, as well as meet several candidates face-to-face in one setting. Held in one stop centers or space arranged by the one stop, staff screens potential candidates in the talent bank against the job description and skills and abilities requested by the business and notifies candidates of the recruitment event. This kind of targeted recruitment saves the business time and money on their hiring process.
Eligibility
Businesses, adults, dislocated workers and youth are eligible for services through the one stop system. Specific eligibility criteria may apply depending upon services sought.
Contact
