Published: June 17, 2009 11:46 pm      

Helping workers

WorkForce W.Va. helps displaced workers

Steven Browning came to the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center Wednesday in search of help in finding a new job.

Browning, a fabricator and experienced highwall miner builder, said he was laid off from his job at Terex Superior Highwall May 1.

“I’m just trying to find some jobs open,” the Coal City man said. “I hope that things pick up.

“Let’s just hope the coal industry goes up.”

Browning and other displaced workers attended the Community Resource Fair, hosted by Region 1 WorkForce WV, to get information that will help them re-enter the job force.

WorkForce’s Lisa Lilly said the free event drew local agencies, business and organizations to one location to assist displaced workers and their families in a variety of ways.

Information on job skills, job hunting, health care insurance for children, public assistance, college and food services were offered at the fair.

Marsha Smith, co-director of Beckley Dream Center, said her group came to let displaced workers know about the Fishes and Loaves program offered by the center.

Fishes and Loaves is a faith-based, nonprofit organization that provides hot meals three to five days per week in Beckley and offers classes on computer literacy, budget and finance skills and offers information on health issues.

Other organizations and businesses attending included Mountain State University, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, Valley College, New River Community and Technical College, West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Saunders Temporary Services, Academy of Careers and Technology;

Beckley Federal Correctional Institution, Wyoming County Career and Technical College, Raleigh County Community Action, Division of Rehabilitation Services, Consumer Credit Counseling, Work Force West Virginia, Mountain Heart, Construction Works of West Virginia and Bridgemont Community and Technical College.

Fred Mixer of the WorkForce rapid response team told those gathered that a “displaced worker” is someone “who through no fault of their own has lost their job.”

“You didn’t get in a fight and get fired,” he said. “You didn’t walk off the job.

“It wasn’t that you left the job. The job left you.”

Mixer encouraged attendants to keep a positive outlook during the difficult time of job searching.

“You can look at it as the worst disaster in your life,” he said. “You can give up and get on the couch.”

He said although it is a “hard situation,” job loss can present unique opportunities.

“Here is a chance to do something a little different, to figure out with a little bit of re-education, re-training, that there’s something else that you can do with your life,” he said.

Displaced workers are often accustomed to performing one job and operating within one skills set, according to Mixer.

Losing the job can encourage them to develop their talents, he said.

“You can turn those talents and turn those skills around,” he said. “Sometimes people think in the back of their mind, when they started the job they’re doing ... that if they hadn’t gotten that job, they would’ve done this other thing,” he said. “You get started in this job and the other thing you were thinking about, you filed away in the back of your mind and think, ‘Maybe some day.’

“Well, for you, maybe ‘some day’ is here.”

Company officials who plan to close or lay off workers may contact Robin Morgan, business services manager, at 304-255-3932 to set up a personalized rapid response seminar for their employees.

— E-mail: jfarrish@register-herald.com