Lancaster (March 18, Capitol Wire Service):  At a time of high unemployment and a shift in the state's top industries, Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett urged job-seekers here to be "adaptable" in their search.  Corbett visited a CareerLink center in Lancaster and talked with several unemployed residents before releasing his plan to increase jobs in the Commonwealth. One part of that plan will be to help the state's educational institutions better prepare students of all ages for the jobs that are available.

Many of the residents Corbett spoke with were middle-aged and looking for new skills in what they described as a competitive, increasingly high-tech job market. "There's a whole different economy that we're in now in the 21st century, with the Internet alone, and you have older people who need to find those jobs, because the old manufacturing jobs, a lot of them have left," Corbett said. The state's CareerLink centers offer skills training, job-search assistance and related programs to residents who are looking for employment. Scott Sheely, executive director of the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board, said that county's center sees 1,500 new job-seekers each week.

Pennsylvania's unemployment rate in February was 8.9 percent, which was slightly up from the previous month but below the national rate of 9.7 percent. In Lancaster County, that rate currently is about 8 percent, according to local officials.  Staff at the career center estimated that about 10 percent of the state's unemployed population come in for assistance.

Lancaster: On Friday, February 26, thirteen Lancaster County residents graduated from Construction 101, a pre-apprentice ship program for careers in the construction industry that is co-sponsored by the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in partnership with Lancaster County Adult Probation and Parole Services, Neighborhood Services, the PA CareerLink of Lancaster County, SACA, and the Keystone Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, at a ceremony held at Stevens College.

Those graduating included Craig Austin, Derrick Barrett, Allen Blouch, Jose Cruz, Robert Hoffman, Guyliano Laguerre, Thomas Marty, Darrell Murrey, Michael Roane, Zachary Sharp, James Speller, Dawn Thompson, and Jeffrey West..

Participants completed a six-week, 240 hour program of classroom instruction and on-the-job training that qualifies them to work in the construction industry and that provides a curriculum which is at the introductory core of the apprenticeship programs for carpenters, electricians, masons, plumbers, HVAC, and other construction careers. Coursework includes safety, hand and power tools, construction math, and other topics.

Lancaster:  On March 10, 2010, the PA CareerLink of Lancaster County recognized over 200 people who graduated from its Ready2Work program over the last two months.  County Commissioner Dennis Stuckey brought greetings and congratulations from the County Commissioners while Scott Sheely, Executive Director of the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board, encouraged graduates to be persistent in their job search and to consider additional training that would add to their skill sets.  Sheely noted that "this has been one of the worst recessions in a hundred years but people are still finding work....Don't give up."

Ready2Work graduates were allowed early entry into the 8th Annual Spring Job Fair that followed to talk with the nearly 40 employers which participated.

Lancaster: On Monday, March 8, 2010 Congressman Joe Pitts paid a visit to the Gathering Place in Lancaster County. The Gathering Place has a thrift store and food bank for those in need. It also provides case management services for those infected and affected by the HIV virus. Three young people from the Winter Work Program operated by the Lancaster Employment and Training Agency help out there on a regular basis with organizing the food bank donations, sorting and pricing donations for the thrift shop, and displaying and merchandising the items for sale in the thrift shop.

For more information on Youth Programs operated by LETA, please call 717-291-1231.