LYNN -Fred Arborgast of Lynn is 60 and looking for work. He hopes to find it with help from the North Shore Career Center on Union Street.
On Thursday, Arborgast was among more than a dozen unemployed Lynn-area residents seated at computer terminals to mine the state’s job databases. As he searched the listings and waited for the start of a workshop sponsored by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, others completed career center membership interviews or discussed their particular employment situations with one of the many counselors.State Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne M. Bump was also present, visiting the center to get a closeup look at the city’s unemployment picture and how effectively the state’s workforce development funds are being used.Bump also announced the receipt of $2.59 million in additional federal recovery funds that will be immediately distributed to the one-stop career centers in Lynn, Salem and Gloucester.The funds are part of the $67 million recently received from the federal government to assist all 37 career centers statewide.”In these difficult times, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that some Massachusetts industries are still hiring,” said Bump. “These funds will help put people back to work and give unemployed citizens the support and services they need to rejoin the workforce.”While Arborgast remained hopeful, he explained that the past six months have been rough, ever since he was laid off by the Lowe’s home-improvement store chain. “I worked for the city Department of Public Works for 25 years,” he said, noting that after a brief relocation to Florida he returned north and began working again.”I’m 60 and a Vietnam veteran and let me tell you it’s hard to get a job. People say they don’t discriminate, but at my age they do,” he said.Mary Sarris, executive director of the North Shore Workforce Investment Board (WIB), said an unprecedented number of people are now enrolled n workforce training. “We’re 80 percent higher than at this time last year,” she said. “The demand for training is high.”According to Bump, funds from President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus package are being distributed faster in Massachusetts than elsewhere because workforce training programs were already established. The funding is particularly significant this year because state and local dollars are unavailable to support summer and youth job programs, a fact acknowledged by Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr.The Lynn career center also houses programs that teach youth how to write resumes, prepare for job interviews and keep a job once hired. These initiatives target students at risk of dropping out or those who already have left school.”This is the first time we have been able to put the money directly in the hands of the career centers,” Bump said.With summer approaching, Gov. Deval Patrick plans to combine $6.67 million from the state YouthWorks summer jobs program with $3.1 million in public safety funds and $21.1 million for youth employment and educational programs provided under the federal recovery bill. The statewide total of $30 million statewide will support up to 10,000 summer jobs for low-income youth between the ages of 14 and 24.The North Shore WIB will receive just over $1 million of these funds. In addition to Lynn, WIB serves Beverly, Danvers, Essex, Gloucester, Hamilton, Ipswich, Lynnfield, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Marblehead, Middleton, Nahant, Peabody, Rockport, Salem, Saugus, Swampscott, Topsfield and Wenham.The Lynn career center has more than 1,000 members ? unemployed persons seeking assistance in finding work.”They come here and log into the computer for the job listings. Every week there are hot jobs posted, and today some people are here for the MBTA workshop,” said Greg Bunn, a manager at the career center. “The MBTA has openings for bus drivers and other jobs.”
