Record Year in 2008 for Goodwill's Workforce Development Team

Due to the slumping economy causing hundreds of thousands of people to lose their jobs in 2008, Goodwill of Central Arizona's Workforce Development services are in higher demand than ever before. The Goodwill of Central Arizona team served almost 23,000 individuals last year more than doubling its outreach from 2007.

Goodwill's Workforce Development department is dedicated to helping youths and adults achieve their highest potential through a variety of career options, despite any barriers to employment that may exist. The Workforce Development staff offer comprehensive programs to provide individuals with the self-confidence, training and soft skills experience needed to become employable in today's competitive labor market. These programs and services are provided at no cost to the community, although for some government-funded programs, certain guidelines must be met.

When the economy took a downward turn in 2008, thousands of Arizona residents turned to Goodwill's Workforce Development team for assistance. In fact, Goodwill's nine Career Centers registered more than 66,000 visits in 2008. Lisa Wilham, Vice President of Workforce Development for Goodwill of Central Arizona, noted that the Career Centers' total visits in the first three quarters of 2008 surpassed all of the visits in 2007.

"Clearly, the economic collapse played a huge role in the community's need for our services last year," said Wilham.”

Wilham said that Goodwill's nine Career Centers offer the major services that community residents seek.

"The Career Centers offer computer and Internet access, job postings, labor market information, job fairs and many other resources," said Wilham. "When individuals visit our Career Centers, they learn about the other programs and services we offer."

Wilham said that the poor economy sparked an increase in the number of people who requested the "next level of assistance" from her Career Center staff. That next level of assistance can include transition programs, re-careering or skills training.

"In the past, many individuals used the Career Centers for tasks that they could complete on their own - job searches, faxing, creating resumes," said Wilham. "This year, more visitors consulted with Career Center staff for resume updates, employment research, interviewing tips because they wanted to know how to gain an edge in today's tough job market."

Wilham said 2008 was a record year overall for her staff.

"Despite our limited resources, our team was able to serve almost 23,000 individuals and place more than 5,100 people into jobs. We can't post results like that without having a phenomenal team of qualified, dedicated, productive and passionate people. I'm extremely grateful for their commitment to Put People to Work."

In 2009, Wilham says that the Workforce Development team's main goal is to continue to market its services to the community.

"It's important that Arizona's youth and adults know that the Career Centers serve as the gateway to the job training, education opportunities and career services that will help them achieve a lifetime of self-sufficiency through the power of work," said Wilham.