$2.4-Million Career Services Center to Open

A new $2.4-million one-stop career service designed to link job seekers with prospective employers will open Thursday in Sun Valley, at 9024 Laurel Canyon Blvd.

Aimed at lowering the Valley’s unemployment rate, the Sun Valley One-Stop Workforce and Industry Center will provide free access to all of the city and county services available to the unemployed, said Lorraine Gutierrez, vice president of El Proyecto del Barrio, the lead agency involved in the center.

While the state unemployment rate last month was 5.7%, the unemployment rate in the city of San Fernando, for example, was 8.5%, according to the state Employment Development Department.

“Parts of the Valley are very depressed, and a lot of times people don’t know where to go to get a job,” Gutierrez said. “But this way, you can find all the services you need, from job counseling to training, under one roof. There’s no excuse anymore for anyone not to get a job.”

Gutierrez said the U.S. Department of Labor provided the $2.4 million required to operate the center for a year. The funding is renewable for at least three years, she said.

Services to be provided by the center include unemployment benefit services, job counseling, access to job training, child care referrals and a “School to Career Program” that will allow young people with limited experience the opportunity to explore career fields. The center also will pay employers that hire unemployed people needing additional training half of employees’ salaries while they are in training, Gutierrez said.

So far, more than 200 Valley employers have joined the center’s efforts and will regularly post job openings at the center, she said.

For information about the center, call Gutierrez at (818) 830-7133.