GREENFIELD — Lack of transportation, limited internet service and child care remain some of the barriers to people getting jobs throughout Franklin County and the surrounding area, and the pandemic has only made it worse.
The MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board met virtually early Friday morning with area social services heads, legislators and the public for what typically would have been its annual breakfast/Legislative Roundtable. Instead, everyone brought coffee and pastries to their home offices.
After presenting some of the challenges, MassHire Franklin Hampshire Career Center Executive Director Teri Anderson said the center has been inundated with calls for assistance.
“The Career Center stepped in for the region and started helping people over the phone during the pandemic,” she said. “Even though the Department of Unemployment Assistance ramped up its work, it has been busy dealing with a lot of fraud claims, so we’re helping out.”
Anderson said programs are still being offered, albeit online, because of the pandemic. Those include the Manufacturing Skills Initiative, where people are taught new manufacturing skills; the Schools to Career program; and its advocacy for adult education, which teaches people new skills in health care, for instance, through collaborations with community colleges and other organizations.
Rebecca Bialecki, executive director of the MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board, shared success stories, like a man who, during the pandemic, was laid off after working 19 years as a general laborer. He then started over by accessing the new manufacturing skills program and found a new career with a local manufacturer.
The Career Center offers people assistance with job searches, resumes and cover letters, skills training, job matching, career counseling and more. It also helps people with unemployment insurance claims, and it helps employers find new employees by helping with recruiting, worker training and more.
The MassHire Franklin Hampshire Career Center on Arch Street in Greenfield is currently not open to the public. It is conducting work virtually and by phone, and will re-open, in some manner, when COVID-19 numbers start to lower and the state says it’s “OK” to do so, Bialecki said.
“We’ve been very successful finding people jobs during this time — we’ve exceeded our goals and state goals,” Anderson said. “But, we’ve lost some funding and we need help from our legislators. We all need to work together, collaboratively throughout the region, on this.”
Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol, said the North Quabbin region is a community in need, surrounded by other communities in need. The pandemic, she added, has created daunting circumstances.
“But these groups are helping our constituents and providing so much assistance,” she said. “People are trying to get places, find child care, find jobs. They need to know we’re doing all that we can and we will continue to do so.”
Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, said he is amazed at the work the center is doing in the middle of a health crisis.
“It all comes down to all of us, the entire community, dealing with transportation, child care and more,” he said. “This pandemic has exposed so many problems. We all have to work hard, together, to rethink our systems.”
Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, said she is struck by the tenacity of everyone working on the issues.
“I’m glad you’re asking us to think about all of this and glad you’re calling us to have renewed conversations,” she said. “We’ve got unique challenges in this rural area.”
Comerford said she and the rest of the Western Massachusetts legislative delegation will fight for as much funding as possible. She said no one should be lulled into complacency, so efforts have to continue to make sure people have jobs, housing, transportation and more.
Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Sunderland, said she will continue to work on transportation throughout her district, while Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru, said collaborations will continue to be important to achieve goals.
“Franklin County and Hampshire County are really good at collaborations and working together with the executive branch, legislators, colleges and schools, businesses, and I’m very happy to help,” Mark said.
For more information, visit masshirefhcareers.org or masshirefhwb.org.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.