WorkSource's new OCE&E building offers one-stop shopping -- Career Center Blog

August 21, 2011

WorkSource's new OCE&E building offers one-stop shopping

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By Randy Woods
NWjobs

Back in 2009, the last time I was out of work, I have to admit that one of my least favorite job-search chores was making visits to my local WorkSource office. The staff was always very helpful and impeccably nice -- and they still are -- but the experience left me feeling a bit defeated by the time I returned home. Much of that reaction, I think, came from the physical location of the offices.

Since I was living in Ballard at the time, the closest affiliate was tucked away in a dark, cramped corner of the North Seattle Community College (NSCC) campus. Each time I entered to pick up forms or attend workshops, it was like being transported back to one of the overworked, charmless motor vehicle departments I remember from my youth, back on the East Coast.

Now that I'm back to making an active search for full-time work, I recently paid another visit to WorkSource, and all I can say is, what a difference two years can make.

The North Seattle WorkSource offices are now located in a brand-new building on the south end of the NSCC campus, called the Opportunity Center for Employment and Education (OCE&E). Opened in May, the energy-efficient, brightly-lit, 45,000-square-foot building now houses not only the WorkSource North Seattle affiliate, but also the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), where people can apply for assistance with various needs, such as child support, financial assistance and rehabilitation. In addition, NSCC has located its Workforce Education and Career Services departments in the new structure.

I spoke with Wendy Peterson, integration manager at the OCE&E, who told me the new building is the result of seven years of hard work by NSCC, DSHS and the Employment Security Department. The previous location of the North Seattle WorkSource office, I learned, was only meant to be temporary while the new building was being built.

"The idea is that you have one place to have all the community partners come together and work with each other's programs under one roof," Peterson said. "It's a more streamlined approach. If you come in to take a WorkSource workshop on your resume, you may find that there are some other services you could look into, like training programs."

The extra room at OCE&E provides more space for classrooms, which are being used by several other partner organizations for instruction in financial literacy, credit and debt counseling, and information on the Earned Income Tax credit. Some of the newly added programs include the YWCA's BankWorks, an eight-week program for those interested in becoming bank tellers, and Goodwill's Community College 101 program, which helps attendees plan for a career, enroll in community college, secure financial aid and learn effective study habits.

Another incidental but welcome change at the OCE&E is a new parking lot, dedicated for WorkSource visitors. Those who remember having to wait in line at the temporary offices to get a parking voucher and run back to your car to slip it onto your dashboard before the NSCC parking attendants could ticket you will surely appreciate the new arrangement.

The "official" launch of the OCE&E will be Sept. 8, Peterson said, but the building has already won over some fans in the last few months, including me. "The new building allows us to offer more services and provides more choices for people looking for work," she added. "It's all about trying to get people to reach self-sufficiency faster."

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.