Economically Speaking: Pilot program shares job marketing info

Joseph L. Driskill is the director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

Many of the employment services offered through the Missouri Department of Economic Development are meant to assist job seekers at no cost. However, we offer a wide range of services to businesses as well, geared toward helping them find qualified employees.

We're taking steps to promote our employer services and make sure all Missouri employers are aware of the free placement tools available to them.

To this end, the Missouri Division of Workforce Development, which is part of the Department of Economic Development, is taking part in a pilot program called the National Business Employment Consortium, aimed at increasing employer awareness of the services we have to offer. This is a federal program fully funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Missouri, Alaska, Iowa, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Montana and Washington were selected to take part in the project, which entails separate marketing campaigns in each state. Under the consortium, each state is promoting its individual employment services but is also sharing ideas and networking as a partnership.

In Missouri, we are promoting our Web site www.greathires.org and the Missouri Career Centers as effective means of building a strong work force. We began the campaign in January and targeted three areas as test markets Kansas City, the Ozarks and the Southeast region. As part of the outreach campaign, we have sent direct mail pieces to employers in those areas and invited them to open house events at the career centers.

The mail pieces invite employers to log onto the Web site and explore the services available to them. Business representatives at a dedicated toll-free number are available to answer any questions and to help employers use the employment services. We are tracking the results through the phone calls made to this number and by the number of guests to the site.

Greathires.org is a valuable resource for both employers and job seekers alike. The Web site offers the largest database of job seekers in the state and the opportunity to post job openings and look for qualified candidates. The Web site contains a wealth of local economic data, labor market trends, training information and other helpful facts designed to help manage a business.

The Web site also allows continuous access to the resources provided through the Missouri Career Centers, which are "one-stop centers" located around the state. Missouri Career Center staff specializes in local labor market trends, career counseling and skill assessments, and are available to help businesses find and pre-screen qualified job applicants. In addition, business representatives are available to assist business owners in sorting through all career center programs and services to determine how the career centers can meet specific employment and training needs.

Our goal is to get the word out about how we can help Missouri employers identify, screen and hire good employees. We recognize that one of our most valuable economic development tools is a quality work force, which ensures prosperity for Missouri, our businesses and our workers.

We are pleased to be able to help Missouri employers through this federal program and look forward to seeing the results. Hopefully we can expand this effort statewide in the near future.