Finding a job just got a little easier in Thunder Bay.
Realizing three offices in three separate areas of the city was less than efficient, a trio of government employment programs have joined forces and will offer their respective services under one roof in three different locations around the city.
Lakehead Employment Services, Northwest Employment Works and Yes Employment Services will now collectively operate the Employment Ontario Employment Services Program.
Jason Ozbolt, manager of employment programs at Confederation College, where one of three offices will be housed, said the decision will make job-hunting much less complicated and time consuming in Thunder Bay.
"It’s an opportunity to move forward with this new employment service, this one-stop type shop for all employment services here in Thunder Bay," Ozbolt said.
Before the merger, which officially began on Aug. 1, prospective workers, depending on the different program they were taking part in, or whether or not they were on employment insurance, might have to visit multiple locations before their needs were satisfied.
As of the beginning of the month, they can now access a variety of programs under one roof, including Second Career, Ontario Self-Employment Benefit, Job Search and Job Matching, Placement and Incentives.
"It gives us an opportunity to expand our services in terms of who we’re dealing with. We get to service everyone, whether you’re on EI, not on EI, youth adult, looking for retraining, employment. Anyone who’s looking at new opportunities, looking at finding work or to retrain, we want to serve them and we want to help them."
Ozbolt added they’ve added staff at his Northwest Employment Works office, the former Job Connect, which will still operate as a separate entity as part of the new collective.
MPP Bill Mauro (Lib., Thunder Bay-Atikokan) said Thursday’s announcement was the culmination of three years of work, after the federal government downloaded – and continued to fund – a variety of employment programs on top of ones the province was already offering.
"Now everybody who needs these services and training opportunities can find them in once place. It’s made it easier for people and streamlined it, and made it more efficient from the government perspective," Mauro said.
The offices are open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
