After unrest rocked Milwaukee in August - following the police killing of a black man, Gov. Walker promised to send mobile job banks to distressed city neighborhoods. Many are plagued by joblessness and crime.
On Tuesday, the first traveling unit arrived. It set up a bank of computers on 27th and North, inside the Dept. of Workforce Development. Several dozen people came in to take advantage of the services.
Jerry Grover sat in a corner of the Hire Center, searching for jobs on a laptop.
“I’m trying to update my resume, I’m trying to get another welding job,” Grover says.
Even though Grover is retired, he wants – or needs - to get back into the workforce. But, it’s not easy.
“I'm an elderly guy now and it’s kind of hard because of my age. I know it shouldn’t be because the skill is there once you learn. My body’s fit, I’m able to do it, it’s hard but I keep trying,” Grover says.
Grover says he’s grateful for the services the state is offering through its mobile unit. So is Shanta Winters. She says besides the computer banks, counselors are on hand to help her lay the foundation for a career.
“They help me with my resume, they are helping me to further my education and they’re giving me job leads and training in the health care field because that’s where I told them I wanted the help in,” Winters says.
Winters is confident she’ll land something soon.
Another person who’s hopeful is Emmanuel Williams, a single father looking for employment and housing. He thinks the mobile jobs initiative will end up being effective.
“The community is going to grow with this program because it’s offering jobs and it’s offering careers and help in establishing your career, finding out what you’re good at and what you’re not good at, what I think I’m good at I might not be that good at, my skill set might be something else,” Williams says.
Williams says he didn’t know the state provided such a myriad of services. John Dipko of the Department of Workforce Development, says that’s been part of the problem – people don’t know help is available.
“Despite all of the aggressive promotion that we do of the website, of the job center system, we’ve still heard there’s a lack of awareness. If we can build that awareness, more people will receive the services they need so we can move people toward good paying jobs,” Dipko says.
Dipko says the mobile job centers will move to different locations in Milwaukee in coming months. The next stop will be at Parklawn Assembly of God near Sherman Park on Tuesday.
