Cleveland State Community College and the Tennessee Career Center at Cleveland are hosting an Open House on Friday, Aug. 14 at 10 a.m. The Open House will be held at the Career Center’s new location in Room 130 of the Technology Building on the CSCC Campus. Participants will be able to tour the new facility, hear about the services the Center offers, as well as meet the staff.
According to Rick Layne, Director of Career and Workforce Development for the SETDD, (Southeast Tennessee Development District) the idea behind housing the Career Center on the CSCC campus came from conversations between SETDD, the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce, and CSCC.
Dr. Tommy Wright, CSCC Vice President of Advancement and Administration, took the idea to Dr. Bill Seymour, President of CSCC, and the two worked with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to make it a reality.
“We all felt this was a good idea and would be a win/win for the community, the Career Center, and CSCC,” stated Mr. Layne. According tohim, the Career Center has two customer bases they serve—job seekers and employers. They help to match job seekers with job openings. They help them develop the soft skills they may need, as well as underwrite the cost of training, tuition, books, transportation, tools, fees, uniforms, etc. for eligible customers. There are some guidelines, however. They have to be in a program that would lead to an “in-demand” occupation such as Advanced Manufacturing, Healthcare or Information Technology. In addition, they help employers recruit through job orders, job fairs, and can provide training grants in some instances.
Participants can browse job listings from local employers every day in a variety of occupations such as administrative, maintenance, business and financial operations, social services, information systems, food and lodging, health care, production, sales and distribution. The Center also provides career guidance, resume writing, interview workshops and skills assessments.
Both employers and job seekers can visit the Career Center’s online job portal by going to www.jobs4tn.gov. Employers can register for job orders and job seekers can look for job listings and apply for jobs through this site.
Mr. Layne stated, “We are so pleased with the cooperation and willingness that CSCC expressed to have us on their campus, and we are also grateful to the Chamber of Commerce for their continued partnership that provided some of the funds to help us relocate.”
For more information on the Open House or the Cleveland Career Center, contact them at 790-5552 or visit their website at www.secareercenter.org.