Career Services Division  
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Introduction

The Career Services Division provides free employment and training services to job seekers looking for employment, as well as assistance to businesses with hiring and training employees.  The Career Services Division is funded in part through a grant from the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA).  Local Workforce Investment Areas (LWIAs) designated by the Governor of California administer WIA services. Each LWIA appoints a local Workforce Investment Board (WIB) with members from local businesses, educational institutions, chambers of commerce, government agencies, and other organizations.  The local WIB develops and submits a local area plan to the Governor and appoints a local One-Stop operator.

The cities of Arcadia, Duarte, Monrovia, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, and South Pasadena, and the community of Altadena are served by the Foothill Workforce Investment Board. The Foothill Employment and Training Connection (FETC) One-Stop Career Center is located at:

1207 E. Green Street

Pasadena, CA 91106

The Center is operated jointly by the City’s Career Services Division and the State of California’s Employment Development Department (EDD). Both WIA and EDD services can be obtained at the Center.

Services for Job Seekers

 

WIA authorizes services for youth, adults, and laid-off workers. Eligible youth must be 14 to 21 years of age, low income, and meet at least one of six specific barriers to employment.  The youth program emphasizes attainment of basic skills and opportunities for academic and occupational training, and provides exposure to the job market and employment.  Activities may include instruction leading to completion of secondary school, tutoring, internships, job shadowing, work experience, adult mentoring, guidance and counseling.  The program emphasizes services for out-of-school youth.

Eligible adults must be age 18 or older.  Eligible laid-off workers are generally individuals who have been laid-off from their last employment and are unlikely to return to their previous occupation due to depressed economic conditions in that industry.  One-Stop centers generally offer three levels of services:

  • Core Services are generally self-directed services and include use of computers, printers, the Internet, copiers, telephones, and fax machines for job-search related activities.  Also available are several workshops aimed at enhancing computer and job-search skills.

  • Intensive Services are available to eligible individuals who have not been able to obtain employment under Core Services.  Intensive Services include working one-on-one with a case manager, assessment of skills and interests, participation in workshops available only to those enrolled in Intensive Services, and, in some cases, limited financial assistance for those who are in need of basic necessities, such as childcare, transportation, clothing, tools, and uniforms.

  • Training Services are available to eligible individuals who have not been able to obtain employment under Core or Intensive Services.  Through Training Services, individuals can attend approved vocational and professional trade schools.  Training must be in an occupation that is determined to be in-demand in the Local Workforce Investment Area.  Another possibility is on-the-job training, where WIA funds pay up to 50% of the employee’s wages during a specified training period

Core Services are available to all job-seekers.  Enrollment in Intensive and Training Services is done on a case by case basis, after meeting with an eligibility specialist.

Services for Businesses

The Foothill Employment and Training Connection offers a variety of services to businesses, including:

  • Applicant screening/referral:  When your business grows, FETC can help you recruit qualified new employees.

  • On-site positive recruitment and interviewing:  If you need to hire several employees at once, FETC can set up a positive recruitment where you can meet with and interview candidates at our Career Center.

  • On-the-job training subsidies:  The WIA program can pay up to 50% of a new employee’s wages if that employee participates in on-the-job training.  The training period usually does not exceed six months.

  • Local labor market information:  Get up-to-date information about the local labor market, such as prevailing wages.

  • Rapid Response/Down-sizing assistance:  If it becomes necessary to down-size your workforce, the FETC Rapid Response team can help both you and your affected employees get through the process.  The Rapid Response team can come to your place of business and provide affected employees with information about services available at the Career Center.

The Foothill Employment and Training Connection is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Before receiving any services, job-seekers must attend an orientation.  For more information please visit the Foothill Workforce Investment Board web site at http://www.foothilletc.org, or call (626) 796-JOBS.  If you would like to learn more about the business services available at FETC, please visit our web site or call (626) 584-8392.