RWES works with employees and employers

By Adelle Ellis, Times Reporter

Having helped over 60 per cent of clients secure jobs in the first 18 months since opening, Rocky View and Wheatland Employment Services (RWES) with Prospect Human Services accounts the continued support, resource centre and personal connections that have been made with both clients and employers as pertinent to their success.
RWES opened on May 1, 2018, and since then over 6,000 clients, both new and repeat, have walked through the doors in search of resources and help to secure a job using the free service.
“Our role as career advisers is to career advise. We’ll meet with people who are trying to figure out what to do next. We offer career resources and skills workshops, we have had job fairs and have the job board for job postings,” said Alison Hiscock, career adviser with RWES.
Strathmore’s RWES branch offers several services such as assessments completed by career advisers to help determine what barriers might be getting in the way of a client finding a job; an employment resource centre where clients can have access to computers, faxing, scanning and printing services relating to employment; a databank of employment related services and job searches on the available-to-use computers; a contact list of employers within Strathmore and information on how they prefer to receive job applications; a job board with all current open jobs; a job fair every spring; employment workshops; and, use of the resource room as an interview space and private hiring events for companies looking to hire more than three new employees.
“We work to have a good understanding of the client’s skills so what we can make an appropriate employment match,” said Kelly Yorkson, career adviser. “We’re really in tune with what employers are looking for. It’s a small enough community where we have that ability to make good matches based on the needs and we know what those are because of the relationships we build.”
Workshops are held based on interest and include career planning, resume development, internet and googling, how the Canadian workforce is and interview skills, which is the most popular workshop within Strathmore. RWES also teaches career and life management (CALM) in the schools.
The job board is one of the most popular visual resources that clients like to reference. Every job that is posted on online job banks is printed and posted on the job board, and employers within Strathmore can even stop in to make up full-size job postings. A job of the day is also featured, and all posted jobs include what the job is, the expectations and what the qualifications are.
One of the things the local career advisers pride themselves on is working with both clients who walk in and with businesses to help understand the needs of both. And they hope to take that connection further.
“Both Kelly and I would love to go out and meet with different employers and introduce ourselves … we want to connect with employers so they know we’re here and that we’re another source if they want to advertise jobs, to support them and support the community members to work,” said Hiscock. “The pride we take in the kind of support we provide, we just feel really good about the level of support people get when they come here … if nothing else just come in and use our resource room and ask for help because we’re going to be cheering you on.”
In the future, RWES is looking at working with the town’s economic development officer to host employer workshops with an economic development perspective. They also hope to expand and grow to better assist clients with barriers, both physical and mental.
RWES is located downtown in the Strathmore Centre and is open Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. No appointment is necessary.