Satellite Employment Services come to Verona

Julie Druker | Sep 16, 2015

Ashley Barrie, employment consultant with St. Lawrence College Employment Services, was in Verona at the Free Methodist Church on September 10 offering satellite employment services as part of the organization’s first outreach initiative program there.

Barrie was on hand from 10 a.m. until noon that day hoping to meet one on one with individuals and identify their employment goals. St. Lawrence Employment Services is offering various kinds of assistance necessary to help people meet those goals.

With offices currently in both Kingston and Sharbot Lake, Barrie said that the new satellite services will serve those Verona and area residents who may find it difficult to get to Sharbot Lake or Kingston. Barrie said her role as an employment consultant is to meet one on one with individuals and to “identify what exactly is standing between that individual and employment”. Barrie said these could be any number of things, including lack of transportation, lack of child care, an ineffective resume, and more.

What Barrie wants people to know is that the barriers can be large or small and that she can offer a wide range of services that can address all of the issues, be they improving an existing resume; assisting with mock job interview scenarios; or bigger, more long term issues like job retraining or returning to school. “We understand that every situation is different for every client so we are aiming to be very flexible in our approach and I really strongly believe that there is always a way that we can help.”

The services Barrie offers will also include, in the afternoons, special focused workshops like SmartServe, workers’ health and safety training, and traffic control training. The workshops will be based on the needs of clients she sees.

Barrie hopes to see people take advantage of these services. “In a community like this one where jobs are often seasonal, layoffs are often a reality and people can find themselves needing something to carry them through. Sometimes it can be a simple thing like needing a certain pair of work boots and we can help with that too. We can also contact employers and offer them an incentive, which can make the difference in them hiring a new employee or not.”

Asked how long the Verona services will be running, Barrie said as long as they are needed. “We plan to be offering these services as long as we see that people are using them and if we can help even just one person to find work, it will have been worth it.”

Future dates and times for the Verona employment services can be found at the St. Lawrence College Employment Services website at www.employmentservice.sl.on.ca