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One Stop Centers

The Government Accountability Office has issued a report entitled Most One-Stop Career Centers Are Taking Multiple Actions to Link Employers and Older Workers:

"The share of older persons in the U.S. population age 55 and older is
projected to increase to 30 percent by 2025 and continue to grow
through 2050. At the same time, more older persons are expected to
continue working than in the past and, in doing so, may need employment
and training services as they make transitions to different jobs and
work arrangements. Several factors will contribute to this phenomenon.
The number of older Americans and their proportion of the total
population are increasing and are expected to continue to increase.
Fewer of these older Americans are expected to have the traditional
retirements of previous generations and many will continue working for
financial or other reasons. At the same time, labor force growth is
expected to slow and employers will be faced with a relatively smaller
and younger available workforce. As a result, some businesses will need
to retain existing older workers or attract additional older workers to
meet their workforce needs. The Department of Labor has
identified one-stop career centers as a means to link older
workers with employers through employment and training services. To
address the role of one-stops in serving older workers, we examined:
(1) Labor's actions to help one-stops link employers and older workers
and (2) one-stops' actions to help employers hire and retain older
workers."

"Based on our survey results, we estimate that most one-stops took multiple actions to link employers and older workers. One-stop
officials identified some actions as most effective, such as training staff to assist older workers, and often used multifaceted approaches.
Several factors —— for example, the local economy and how workers' skills match with employers needs —— might affect what actions one-stops take to
serve older workers. One factor, the performance measure tracking participants' earnings, may create disincentives for serving older
workers who are more likely to work part-time, which provides lower wages. We have previously recommended that Labor assess the potential
for such disincentives, and we continue to believe that doing so would be worthwhile."

CareerOneStop is a US Department of Labor-sponsored Web site that offers career resources and workforce information to job seekers, students, businesses, and workforce professionals to foster talent development in a global economy.  It includes: America’s Career InfoNet helps individuals explore career opportunities to make informed employment and education choices.  The Web site features user-friendly occupation and industry information, salary data, career videos, education resources, self-assessment tools, career exploration assistance, and other resources that support talent development in today's fast-paced global marketplace.  (www.CareerInfoNet.org)

• America’s Service Locator connects individuals to employment and training opportunities available at local One-Stop Career Centers.  The Web site provides contact information for a range of local work-related services, including unemployment benefits, career development, and educational opportunities.  (www.ServiceLocator.org)

Best Places to Work

We're all familiar with those articles that highlight best places to work in one category or another. Less familiar is the focus on those companies that welcome gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgendered individuals. The Human Rights Campaign website has just issued such a list.

"Check out our list of the top companies that support equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees. Based on our annual report, the Corporate Equality Index that rates corporate America's treatment of GLBT employees, more than 140 companies received a perfect score demonstrating their commitment to equality.

"Individuals can be fired in 33 states if they are gay, lesbian, or bisexual, and 42 states if they are transgender. HRC recognizes these Best Places to Work for GLBT Equality as companies that have made a commitment to end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace."

Industry headings can be clicked upon to see a list of companies as well as their scores on the Human Rights Campaign report, information on their policies and a link to their site.

Links

AARP Working Option - A Guide to Midlife and Older Workers - Such assessment questions about whether you should change jobs based on the health and competitiveness of your company, possibilities of further downsizing etc. make great good sense. Creating a mindset to change career direction and an exhortation to forget your chronological age reflect the positive nature of this site.

American Society of Association Executives - One of the reasons Forbes likes this site is that job descriptions include direct contact info. Click an association category such as tech, finance, government affairs while designating the area you wish to live, position desired and salary. You may not post your resume here, however, and registration does allow some privilege.

Canadian Businesswomen's Sites - Canada One Magazine's picks for women in business with national and regional focuses. A well organized list of organizations, sites and community for working women in Canada including international sites and e-mail groups.

CareerJournal - The always impressive WSJ put this site together with who's hiring, job seeking advice, salary comparisons by industry and region. HR resources, tips for success in the workplace, the opportunity to place and find notices relating to a consulting career as well as skills that are in demand .

Department of Labor: Jobs: Employment law assistance, health benefits education, EEOC, safety, health, wage & workplace standards, family & medical leave, discrimination & opportunities for the disabled. In addition, this site has a bureau specifically for women within it.

Department of Labor Senior Community Service Employment Program -"This site presents information about a national program that recruits, trains and offers job placement services to economically disadvantaged individuals aged fifty-five and older. Content is provided to serve program sponsors, employers, and those seeking information regarding aging and mature worker issues. " As an example, Connecticut has presented such programs as" "Over 50 and Looking for Work", "Looking for Work After 40, 50 60+", and "Effective Job Search Strategies for Mature Workers", "Writing a Winning Resume for Mature Workers", "Interviewing With Skill and Success for Mature Workers".

Yahoo Hotjobs has been noted as an excellent source for job hunting.

Monster.com - Mid-career employment change category, chat boards, contract & temp professional opportunities, consulting...the full range of employment information.

Net Temps - This site boasts a cross posting distribution of over 500 Internet search engines, portals, directories, on-line services and newsgroups used to compile their listings. Search by geographic region, type of job in regard to temporary, full-time, contract or permanent placements. One of their features is a Recruiter's Desktop that includes: Online Job Posting, Web Doctor, Resume Search Agent, Statistic Tracking, Personal Posting and Reply. We did search for a position in a particular part of the country and came up with a goodly number of postings; many time sites offer too few.

Salary.com - This site has a calculator which accesses a proprietary compensation database containing salary information on many job titles. It also calculates salaries based on job title and geographic location. There are pertinent articles to employment, compensation, negotiation, benefits and training. There are links to executive recruiter, job fairs and newsletters.

Vault Reports - An on-line network of uncensored bulletin board intended to attract employees and job seekers at more than 800 companies. It also offers job listings and employment matching services as well as selling books and reports on specific companies. Employees who post damaging messages do so at their own peril.

Workaholics4Hire - Started by a woman who had been successfully telecommuting, the goal was to bring together the outsourcing needs of companies with those who were looking for that kind of work environment. The job database is free, unlike a number of other sites. Once you submit a résumé, it can be used for in an employer prescreening system. Potential candidates are assured that their information is protected in the resume bank system.

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