We read with sadness the articles about the closing of the Franklin Hampshire Career Center’s office in Northampton, even though we were already well-acquainted with the news (“Career center office to close,” Aug. 8, and “Fretting over loss of career center,” Aug. 10.)
As two of the four executive managers at its sister agency, CareerPoint in Holyoke, we too are grappling with budget cuts at the state and federal levels, and face similar program reductions.
We at CareerPoint offer our support to the compassionate, resourceful, and dedicated staff of the FHCC, whose challenging work deserves more respect.
As FHCC executive director Teri Anderson noted in the Aug. 10 article, federal funds are distributed according to strict formulas linked to the unemployment rate; when it declines, the money does too.
What the formula ignores is that unemployment figures are an inaccurate representation of workforce development needs — many job-seekers no longer receive unemployment benefits. Labeled as “discouraged workers” or “out of the workforce,” they are infamously uncounted and difficult to assess — the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that they were 8 percent of the Massachusetts workforce in 2017.
Then there’s the “underemployed,” who work part-time, often piecing together multiple jobs, mostly in entry-level positions that do not offer benefits or a living wage. None of these people are included in the federal funding formulas. Targeted programs for segments of the long-term under/unemployed exist, but the funding is limited and difficult to obtain.
Not mentioned in either article, career centers have another, equally important customer — the business community. It uses career center services to post positions, recruit candidates, acquire labor market information, and access government programs and trainings. They too will be impacted by the Northampton closing.
FHCC and CareerPoint are in communication about how the centers can work together moving forward. Job-seekers from any county are welcome and encouraged to come to CareerPoint; our downtown Holyoke location is closer than Greenfield for southern Hampshire County residents, and is accessible by public transportation from Northampton, Easthampton, and South Hadley.
We will collaborate with Terri Anderson’s staff to make sure FHCC job-seekers have access to any programs with residency requirements.
We will also continue to push for funding for essential workforce and career development services.
Naomi Klayman
Northampton
Ellis “Bud” Delphin
Sunderland
The writers are vice presidents at CareerPoint in Holyoke.