By Andreas Butler
For Hometown News
If you are looking for a job, the Goodwill Job Connection Center may be able to help.
At 131 W. International Speedway Blvd., the center is part of Goodwill Industries of Central Florida and serves the needs of Volusia and Flagler counties.
Its main goal and purpose is to assist people in finding employment.
"We see between 50 to 100 people come through our doors on a daily basis looking for employment and we have services to help them do so," said Linda Miller, employment specialist.
The center's hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Goodwill provides numerous services, including: computer skills classes, computers for job search, resume writing help, job workshops, interview skills workshops, faxing, felony workshops, balancing finances and tax filing.
"We are very willing to assist people applying for jobs. Today, mostly everything is done electronically, so people need to be able to use e-mail and have resumes. We want to help employ the county," Ms. Miller said.
Goodwill also has partnered with its thrift stores, and others, to help provide services.
"Most people have a misconception of us just being a thrift store, but that isn't true. We do have thrift stores and many other thrift stores are now partnering to have Goodwill Job Center services in them. At the store at our office, if a client attends my job class, they get a $25 voucher to get an outfit for a job interview out of the store. If they get the job, they get another voucher to help with their employment," Ms. Miller said.
"All of our services are free and 90 cents on every dollar generated from our stores goes back into the programs that we provide," said Bonnie Trammell, site coordinator.
Last year alone, the local center served more than 24,000 people spanning over six surrounding counties and helped more than 4,500 find jobs.
"That number may have actually doubled this year. We stay busy, but we are available to help. We want everyone to know that we are available. We are available for clients and agencies," Ms. Trammell said.
With the state of today's economy, finding work is tough, but Goodwill officials say it's not impossible.
"There are jobs out there but you have to work fulltime at finding a job. You have to go above and beyond what you did five years ago. Your resume needs to be updated and it needs to be what employers are looking for. You must dress apart and be prepared," Ms. Trammell said.
The local Goodwill Center wants everyone, including job seekers and employers, to know that they are here to help.
"Not only are we here for our clients, but we want employers to come to the center because we want to partner with them. We can post their job listings and provide space for job fairs and office space for interviewing and taking applications. We can also provide quality experienced employees to fill their job needs," Ms. Miller said.
For more information call (386) 258-8585 or go to www.goodwillcfl.org.