SkillSource offers skills development, employment aid

MOSES LAKE — Finding a job can be tricky.  

Job seekers may not have the right skills, or may need help polishing up their qualifications. They might need help making the right connections or face other challenges. Emily Anderson, career and training manager for SkillSource in Moses Lake, said its job is helping people find not only new jobs, but new careers.  

“We provide a variety of different career and retraining services,” Anderson said, with the emphasis on career. 

“We’re really in the business of building careers,” she said. “We want these to be well paying, high-demand jobs that will lead to good careers.” 

It’s one of several agencies providing services in the SkillSource building at 309 E. Fifth Ave., Moses Lake. SkillSource also has an office providing some services in Othello, Anderson said. 

People who want to know what the agency does and what services are available can stop by the Moses Lake office at 10 a.m. every weekday for an orientation, she said.  

Its mission is to help get people ready to go to work, she said, and its services are available to people 16 years of age and older. 

“We’ve had customers in their 80s,” she said. 

The job market is always changing as some businesses come and others go. Moses Lake recently experienced the closure of an international manufacturer and two national retail stores. In two of those cases SkillsSource sponsored what’s called a “rapid response event,” with information on unemployment benefits, retraining options, skills workshops, WorkSource services and programs for dislocated workers. 

“Any time we hear of a (business) closing we try and reach out and offer whatever resources are available,” she said.  

Education and retraining opportunities are available to employees of any business that’s closing, she said, no matter how big or small. 

“We would do a response for one person,” she said.  

Job skills change too, and to bring people up to date SkillSource offers workforce training options, beginning with the most basic skills and going from there.  

The work experience program can pay wages for new employees who are entering the job market for the first time or returning after being out for a while, Anderson said. Participants can learn the employment basics, like being on time and interacting with customers, as well as specific skills. 

People with more experience may be able to qualify for SkillSource on-the-job training. Anderson said the OJT program can reimburse a portion of employee wages while they’re in the hiring process or going through retraining.  

“Earn while they learn,” Anderson said. 

The agency provides classes for people who need the equivalent of a high school diploma. In Othello the Open Doors program offers qualifying young people the opportunity to earn credits they need to complete a diploma.  

Students can get help with college and workforce training scholarships; short term assistance is available for classes like CDL training. There are also opportunities for longer term assistance — Anderson said the program has helped a lot of students in the Big Bend Community College nursing program.  

“Basically, up to two years of training,” she said. 

SkillSource also works to ensure employers know what’s available.  

“We talk to (employers),” she said. “We do a lot of outreach with our business community.” 

Among other things, that means SkillSource will have a booth at the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce Business Expo in March. SkillSource representatives have met with business owners and community members at events like the Coffee and Conversation sponsored by the Downtown Moses Lake Association.  

The agency also is working with the Othello Chamber of Commerce “to see what is needed,” Anderson said. 

Its services are available in English and Spanish.  

“If an employer has a question or a need, we’ll happily work with them,” Anderson said. 

Most of its services are funded through a combination of state and federal grants, she said. 

“For most people and most businesses, there is no charge or a very low charge. These are tax dollars coming back to the community,” she said.  

    Job seekers check out the opportunities at a SkillSource hiring event in Othello.