Officials with Chattanooga's Department of Youth and Family Development want everyone in the region to have access to career help, especially if they can't make it to the state-funded American Job Center at Eastgate Town Center.
Enter the Job Skills Bus Tour.
New to Chattanooga, the Job Skills Bus is coming to the Hixson Community Center Monday, Oct. 2 from 2-4 p.m. Anyone in the community is welcome to attend, free of charge, and receive resources and guidance on how to find job opportunities.
The bus visited the Cromwell YFD Center in August. David Banks, coordinator of workforce development for Chattanooga's YFD department, said of the 10 people who attended, four have already found stable work.
"I look at that as a success. That's our goal with all of this," said Banks. "We want to help people find good jobs and be self-sustaining."
The YFD department has partnered with local human resources and workforce development firm MSi Workforce Solutions to offer Bus Tour attendees guidance on how to get hired and stay hired. The Job Skills Bus offers the opportunity to put together a professional resume and have it critiqued by MSi staff, as well as tips on how to dress and communicate professionally, what makes a good interview, and more.
Banks said acquiring skills like this isn't the easiest thing to do, especially when people are struggling to find good opportunities as it is. He teaches a class on self-improvement and finding employment at the American Job Center.
"When I teach the class, I put 'job,' 'life' and 'success' on the board and tell the class to prioritize them. Every single time, no one puts 'job' as their number one," he said. "When I ask them why, they always say the same thing: They need to get their life together and get that managed first."
While the Bus Tour focuses primarily on job skills, an overview of Banks' life management classes will be available and anyone interested in signing up will be able to do so.
"We help them understand time management and how to be dependable," Banks said. "I think that's why we see success in our participants. The focus isn't just on getting a job, but preparing them and removing obstacles so they can move forward."
For more information, call Chattanooga's Office of Workforce Development at 643-6423 or email David Banks at dbanks@chattanooga.gov.
The Hixson Community Center is at 5401 School Drive.