L&I Secretary Walker Encourages Pennsylvanians to Discover Career Opportunities at PA CareerLink® Northwest Philadelphia

As Pennsylvania prepares to return to some sense of normalcy under Governor Wolf’s phased reopening plan, Philadelphia Works (PhilaWorks), the state’s largest workforce development board, has transitioned many of the resources that career seekers use to meet their career goals from inside its PA CareerLink® centers to an online platform.

Under Pennsylvania’s stay-at-home order, all non-essential businesses, including Philadelphia’s four PA CareerLink® centers, were required to close their brick and mortar facilities. Individuals who were using the centers’ resources to assist them in work readiness activities such as job search, interview prep, skill- building, and career exploration were unable to access the full range of resources that the centers offer.

As a solution, leaders from PhilaWorks and the PA CareerLink® Philadelphia system have identified priority workforce content and have published it online, adding to the variety of resources that center staff are able to offer career seekers during this time.

“Offering more online services and resources is a great step towards allowing all career seekers, especially the unemployed and under employed, to access and utilize our public workforce system,” said Patricia Blumenauer, VP of operations at PhilaWorks. “The hope is that people will use these resources during their time at home to continue working towards their career goals.”

The Career Seeker Virtual Resource Center delivers on PhilaWorks’ mission to develop and manage smart workforce solutions that respond to business needs and increase economic opportunity for all Philadelphia residents. With internet access, from a computer or mobile device, visitors can use the online center to become more familiar with the local PA CareerLink® system, plan and begin their job search, develop their resume, strengthen their professional skills, and even manage stress.

“This is just the beginning for Philadelphia’s workforce system,” said Blumenauer. “We are exploring options to make online content more interactive, with a strategic focus on eLearning. Our goal is to better connect career seekers to the workforce services they need in order to thrive, building a strong pipeline for businesses, and strengthening our local economy.”