Riverside County
NEWS RELEASE
California Edition Host Brad Pomerance interviews Riverside County DPSS Planner Ken Sandefur about Workforce Connection. This is the link:
Previous News Release:
June 16, 2015
Riverside County
NEWS RELEASE
Workforce Connection offers job incentives for businesses to hire 500 people
Banning– Riverside County has a unique program through the Department of Public Social Services that is using wage subsidies, short-term vocational training, and other incentives to enable businesses to hire 500 new workers starting July 1, 2015. It’s called Workforce Connection, a program that will expand partnerships with the business community and provide resources to employers looking to fill create new jobs or fill existing positions.
Workforce Connection Subsidized Employment Program offers:
• Customized professional recruiting and placement services
• Monthly wage subsidy reimbursements for six months for each employee hired through the program
• Short-term vocational training/certification
• Employee retention services
• Minimal paperwork
“The Workforce Connection Program encourages economic development while also stabilizing and strengthening families,” said Susan von Zabern, DPSS Director. “I hope that our business community will take advantage of the resources this program offers and partner with us to strengthen Riverside County,” von Zabern said.
Workforce Connection offers businesses well-qualified, motivated candidates with wide-ranging skills and experience. Many businesses are looking to offset the cost of hiring a new employee which is estimated at about $3,000, the program offers resources to help with those costs and carry long-term savings. Over the last year businesses that hired through Workforce Connection reported a retention rate over 90 percent, which translates into savings well beyond the wage subsidy period.
“DPSS is committed to helping customers reach their full potential by connecting them with career development opportunities while working to improve the local economy at the same time,” said Ken Sandefur, Social Service Planner with Workforce Connection.
Albert Renteria, Executive Director of the Southwest Veterans Business Center uses the program and believes empowering employees is among the greatest rewards of owning a business. “I have learned that creating working capital is not always about the sale but is about access to available resources that can offset payroll costs, so that I am free to reinvest my working capital in other aspects of my business,” he said. With the resources provided through Workforce Connection, Renteria can concentrate on the bottom line.
“Everyone wins. It has worked for me and I encourage fellow business owners to let it work for them,” he said.
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