NORTHAMPTON — Job seekers worrying about making the trek to Greenfield to receive services from the soon-to-close Northampton office of the Franklin Hampshire Career Center are in luck.
The organization has partnered with Forbes Library, which will serve as a satellite office for the agency beginning Sept. 11. The Northampton office on Industrial Drive will close due to federal budget cuts Friday after more than 30 years of operation.
“I was very concerned about these services leaving our community,” said Lisa Downing, director of the library. “I have a great deal of respect for the work that they do, and think it’s very important that we keep that in Northampton.”
Though Downing said space at the library currently comes at “a high premium,” the two parties were able to work out a service schedule for job seekers.
Forbes will provide the physical space and the computers, and the career center will provide the rest.
“We definitely wanted to maintain a presence here in Northampton,” said Teri Anderson, the center’s executive director.
Anderson is grateful that the library will be able to provide a generous amount of room for the center’s clients. “It’s a good fit in terms of the kinds of services we want to offer there,” she said. “They have the perfect space for it.”
The decision to close the career center in Northampton was made after the Department of Labor cut $440,000, or 15 percent, of the center’s budget this year. The majority of the center’s budget — 79 percent — comes from the labor department, and federal funding is tied to the unemployment rate.
Job seekers who need assistance before Sept. 11 can visit the center’s Greenfield office at One Arch Place, 6 Arch St.
Meanwhile, once the center’s Northampton office opens at Forbes next month, it will operate on the following schedule:
♦ Career center staff will provide assistance with online unemployment claims on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mornings are for walk-ins and afternoons are appointment-based.
♦ On Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon, career center employees will offer career center registration and help with online job searches in the library’s computer area.
♦ The center’s introduction seminar, a requirement for some of the services, happens on Wednesdays from 1 to 2 p.m.
♦ Workshops on rotating topics will happen from 1 to 3 p.m. on Thursdays. They’ll cover subjects like resume and cover letters, LinkedIn, online job applications and interviewing skills.
♦ Center staff will provide a monthly information session Tuesdays regarding subsidized job training programs and career counseling.
Downing said the library already offers sessions where staff members teach residents basic computer competency skills, and so that will pair nicely with what the center offers in the computer area of the library.
“That area in particular is going to be a really nice dovetailing,” she said.
Matching the physical space to the needs of the center took some maneuvering, Downing said, but it all worked out in the end.
“It was a little bit of navigating and negotiating,” she said. “But I think we’ve got a schedule that works for us, and will hopefully work for the public.”
Information regarding the new schedule and how to access services is available at fhcc-onestop.com, or by calling the Franklin Hampshire Career Center at 413-774-4361. Event information will be posted online at forbeslibrary.org/events.
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.