Computers To Help Link Workers, Jobs Network For Employers, Unemployed Expected By July
By July, the state hopes to have a system of computer terminals in operation so job-seekers can sit down, punch in personal information and see what jobs are available.
Employers looking for workers will be able to enter information, cutting the time it takes to get workers on the job.
For people like Ben Waters, an unemployed Boise roofer, it sounds like a good idea.
“I think the computers would be real helpful to me,” said Waters, who is a client of the Community House in Boise. “I get tired of waiting in line and filling out all the forms.”
He’s been looking for work for about a month. Community House is a homeless shelter that helps unemployed people get back on their feet.
The new system is being aided by a $2 million federal grant. The Department of Labor expects to get another $2 million grant next year and another $2 million in 1998 to fund the system.
The state plans to have 21 computer kiosks up and running at state offices across Idaho. It’s called the One-Stop Career Center Systems.
“We’ve been working on the system for two or three years now,” said Dwight Johnson, information officer for the department. “The grant will allow us to speed up the process.”
Eventually, the computers will be hooked up to other state agencies, such as Health and Welfare and educational institutions.
“With the client’s permission, they’ll be able to look for work, apply for food stamps and check out career training sessions all at the same time,” Johnson said.
The state also wants to place the computers in public libraries, shopping malls and schools.
A prototype of the system already is at work at the Department of Labor’s main office in Boise.
Idaho is one of 17 states sharing $57 million to set up the systems. Currently more than 15 systems are operating in 16 states that started the program a year ago.
Johnson said the new system should free some data entry workers so they can give job-seekers more one on one help.
“We’ve got a far greater need for our services than we can give right now,” he said.