State’s jobs division The state Workforce Development Division has been "going bananas" with people looking for work following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said Oahu manager Harry Winfield.
swamped with
laid-off workers
The office has had 1,000 visitors a week
By Pat Gee
pgee@starbulletin.com
Located next to the state Unemployment Insurance Division, which also has lines coming out its doors, it is easy for the laid-off workers to walk over to Winfield's office to see what jobs are available. Both state Labor Department offices are in the Keelikolani Building at 830 Punchbowl St.
"We usually see 2,400 to 2,500 people per month. We've gotten 1,000 a week in the last two weeks. They're good people looking for work, and we have jobs available," Winfield said last week.
"The indication is, a lot of local businesses are going out of their way to hire to keep the economy up. Employees are looking to hire people who have been laid off. They want to pitch in; the community is trying to support each other."
The division is setting up "rapid response" units, which go to job sites where workers have been laid off, mainly at hotels and airlines, he said.
The units acquaint workers with the Oahu Work Links, a training consortium made up of private and public agencies that administers funds through the Federal Dislocated Worker Program. It also takes along representatives of Med-QUEST and the unemployment insurance agency who can take registrations.
Holding job fairs has been discussed, but the division will wait a bit longer before setting up any, he said.
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