The Mountaineer

The Employment Security Commission, Waynesville office, has revamped a program. 

In partnership with the Haywood County Department of Social Services, those receiving Food and Nutrition benefits from DSS are offered personal, one-on-one assistance with a job search. This is a statewide directive implemented at 35 offices across the state.

Before, those who receive assistance were required to come to the ESC to perform job searches on their own. Now, they can come in at a time right for them and receive individual help.

“Many people who receive assistance have different circumstances to work through,” said Sheree Sorrells, the food and nutrition consultant for the Waynesville ESC office. “Rather than having a blanket requirement for people to come in and do a walk-through search, now we work more with people who want to work (and are able to work). Most are looking for work.”

With an unemployment rate at 8.5 percent in September (the most recent information available), more and more people have filed for food and nutrition benefits (formally food stamps). Many of those who receive benefits are not eligible for unemployment or have exhausted those benefits, the ESC states in a prepared statement.

Many of those who receive benefits have various barriers to overcome before they can get back on their feet, Sorrells said.

“For the most part, these people really work hard (to find work) and they do recognize what they have to do,” she said. “(In personal meetings) We talk about barriers between what they have now to where they want to be. A lot of times it’s education.”

To help those lacking education, Sorrells said those clients who have not graduated from high school are directed to the GED program at Haywood Community College. The ESC also offers GED instructional classes from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays.

In addition to helping clients obtain the education they need, Sorrells said she works with people on their resumes. Many of the people she has helped have a long work history with lots of jobs held for short periods of time.

“We get them to the point of getting a really good resume, with nailed down times (of employment) and the names of supervisors,” Sorrells said. “It makes a difference. I’ve had people go on to do resumes and are really amazed once they get a resume in front of them and see how good it looks.”

Generic applications are worked to give clients a better picture of what a good application looks like. Sorrells said clients can also tap into the workshops the ESC provides for free to help with other areas of a job search such as the interview process.

“I  make sure, on a one-on-one basis, they know every tool the employment office offers,” Sorrells said.

Some of those Sorrells works with are homeless and the new program allows those people to store important job search documents at the ESC.

“I  keep their paperwork here so they don’t have to carry it around and it’s really helped,” she said.

The Waynesville office of the ESC put the program in place in July and Sorrells said it has been a success, even in a tight economy. With a state quota of 10 job placements a month to meet, Sorrells said her office has far exceeded that quota every month.

“I think it’s worthwhile,” she said, noting more than 300 people have been helped since July. “We do get a lot of response that there is a recession going on and that there are no jobs to look for. There really are jobs out there. People should be prepared for the next opportunity, and this really helps.”

Sorrells can be contacted by calling 456-6061, ext. 215.

The Employment Security Commission office is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and is located at 1170 N. Main St., Waynesville. All services of the ESC are free.