Champaign County creates tool to help job-seekers

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

The Champaign Economic Partnership will soon begin promoting a new website designed to connect Champaign County businesses to area workers.

Beginning Saturday, the economic development organization will launch Community JobConnect, which will serve as a community job board, said Marcia Bailey, director of the CEP.

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“When we have site selectors or businesses looking for expansion opportunities in our community, this is a good way to be able to connect the workforce and economic development all on one website,” Bailey said.

The site will provide services for both local companies and area workers. Area businesses can post internship opportunities, full-and part-time job listings, and search for resumes that match their needs. Residents looking for work can search and apply for jobs, create a resume and receive notifications for jobs that meet their specifications.

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The site is intended as a complement to the OhioMeansJobs website, not as a replacement, Bailey said. It will also provide information for area students about the kinds of career opportunities available in the county, she said.

A Weidmann employee walks along the giant paper machine in the company’s Urbana factory. The company is one of several that are participating in the Champaign Economic Partnership’s new website for job-seekers. Bill Lackey/Staff

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Many smaller businesses often don’t have much of an advertising budget, Bailey said. The free website provides another resource allowing them to look for workers.

“It’s another way for them to have another resource readily available where they can just sign up, put the job ad in there and connect with applicants,” Bailey said.

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The site was developed after human resource managers in the county met to discuss the challenges facing local employers.

“One of the chief concerns shared at these meetings is how to attract and retain local talent for manufacturing jobs, which are often difficult to fill,” said Jill O’Neal, human resources manager at Weidmann Electrical Technology Inc., in a statement announcing the website.

O’Neal and Ashlie Starkie, human resources information systems manager at Weidmann, created the site on their own time. The CEP will host public meetings over the next several weeks to train employers and area residents how to use the site’s job board.

“We’re really excited they partnered with us to get this done,” Bailey said of O’Neal and Starkie’s assistance.


On the Web: CommunityJobConnect.com or on the CEPOhio.com website

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