OTC to assist Springfield career center

Ozarks Technical Community College has agreed to provide staff at the Missouri Career Center in Springfield in an effort to help dislocated workers in the area.

Missouri's career centers are administered by the Department of Economic Development's Division of Workforce Development in conjunction with local work-force investment boards. OTC's agreement is with the Ozark Region Workforce Investment Board, according to a DED news release.

As part of the agreement, OTC will provide a work-force liaison to coordinate with customers and career-center staff to identify the best training programs to utilize.

The career center has been receiving record numbers of jobseekers, with about 8,700 customer visits in February alone. Intensive reemployment services for dislocated workers include interest/skill assessments, career preparation and training in new occupations.

"With OTC's new presence in the career center, a referral to training can now mean only walking a few steps down the hall instead of driving across town," DED Director Linda Martinez said in the release.