Businesses

The Mesa County Workforce Center is dedicated to serving the needs of our business community with a variety of no-cost employer support services and valuable connections to a qualified and work-ready workforce. We offer complete and customizable packages to meet the individual needs of each business, large or small. All of our employer support services are designed to save employers time and money by helping at every step, from Recruiting, Hiring, Training, and Retaining employees. Our knowledgeable Employment Specialists serve your needs by first listening, then designing solutions to help make your organization competitive and successful.

 

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Are you looking to recruit local job seekers? Contact an Employment Specialist:

Call 970-248-7560 or email [email protected]

Looking to connect with and hire CMU students?

Connect directly with CMU Students through Handshake. Handshake is an online job posting platform that helps connect employers to university students nationwide! Create a Handshake account in 4 easy steps: Join Handshake - Employer info

We have a Workforce Development Liaison who works at both the Mesa County Workforce Center and Colorado Mesa University!

Working alongside the Employment Services Team at the Workforce Center and the Career Services team at Colorado Mesa University, Baily Manuppella, holds a shared position, splitting her time between CMU and the Mesa County Workforce Center. The idea is simple: one person can be the one-stop shop for businesses seeking qualified workers. This unique approach offers more than just connecting candidates to employers but also the opportunity to create events, programming, and tools for those ready to enter the workforce.

Would you like more information on our employer support services? Submit the form below to contact your local Workforce Development Liaison!

If you reach out via this form below, there is no need to reach out to the Mesa County Employment Services team separately. The Workforce Development Liaison, Baily works closely with both CMU and MCWFC teams to share employer information and hiring needs.

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Assessments

Business success depends on a workforce that is equipped with the knowledge and expertise to maintain the technological edge that allows for competition in the global economy. Our variety of assessments helps ensure that you are recruiting skilled workers and also helps to promote growth among your current staff.

Benefits Include:

  • Accurate and reliable evaluation of a candidate’s skill level.
  • Saving money in turnover costs.
  • Saving staff time in creating and continuously updating testing modules, in administration, and in scoring.
  • Determination of specific candidate or employee skill level, and be able to offer a fast, effective, “tune-up” program.
  • Hiring decisions with consistent judgment tools.
  • Evaluation of current employees for appropriate career paths and promotion opportunities.
  • Identification of a candidate’s work readiness status prior to making a final hiring decision.

A couple of the more popular assessments include:

WorkKeys® by ACT®

WorkKeys® is a job skills assessment system measuring “real world” skills that employers believe are critical to job success. These skills are valuable for any occupation – skilled or professional – and at any level of education.

IBM Kenexa Assess (previously called Prove It!) Assessment System
Would you like to make sure a potential employee or current employee is proficient in certain software programs such as Microsoft Word or Excel, to name a few? This system allows you to measure their skill level in over 900 different applications.

Job Profiling
We are proud to offer the only Authorized Job Profilers in the area. If you have a position that you are having difficulty finding a good match, let our Profilers determine the required skill set associated with the WorkKeys® tests. Profiling meets the validity and fairness requirements of EEOC guidelines, so you can be sure to find a candidate that can perform all of the required duties.

Free Assessment Utilization

  • Once the employer account and job posting have been verified by staff, the employer may utilize up to four (4) assessments per candidate and up to 15 candidates per job posting.
  • If the business wishes to exceed four (4) assessments per candidate or exceed 15 candidates per job posting, they may do so with responsibility for the incurring costs of the excess assessments. Staff will inform the business of what the assessment(s) costs will be prior to scheduling and proctoring the assessments.
  • All businesses requesting proctored assessments must post the position(s) with us:
    If you do not already have the position posted with us, you may:
     Visit www.connectingcolorado.com to create an account and post your position(s)
    And/Or Contact
     Employment Services to get the position posted at (970) 248-7560 or [email protected]

Workshops/Classes

We can customize workshops designed to meet your business’s unique needs. From customer service to building leadership skills, we offer many in-demand workshops. See the Contact Us section listed below for more information or click here to see calendar of upcoming workshops and classes.

Labor Market

The Labor Market Information (LMI) office of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment serves as the source of information about labor market and economic conditions throughout the state. LMI produces a series of reports on the industrial and occupational structure of the labor market in Colorado and in Mesa County. If you want help understanding the current economic environment, just let one of our Business Development Representatives create a custom report for you.

Layoff Assistance

Do you have to downsize and want to make sure your staff is well informed about Unemployment Insurance and services offered by the Workforce Center?
This program provides a variety of services for employers and their employees when it becomes necessary for the employer to downsize. These services focus on ensuring that affected employees are aware of employment and training related services available to them as dislocated workers. Rapid Response is a state-funded activity to assist employers and employees in the case of a permanent plant closure or mass layoff at a work site. Business Development Representatives will come to your site, speak to affected staff and provide information and access to available employment and training activities.

NAFTA/TAA

The NAFTA-TAA (Trade Adjustment Assistance) Program covers workers who are laid off or who are forced to work part-time as a direct result of increased imports from another country, or of a shift of U.S. production to those countries. It also covers those who are threatened with a job loss or reduced hours for those reasons.

TAA includes a variety of benefits and reemployment services. Additionally, weekly Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA) may be payable to eligible workers following the exhaustion of unemployment benefits. Usually TRA will be paid only if an individual is enrolled in a TAA approved training program.

Ask for the TAA counselor at the Mesa County workforce Center for more information or to obtain forms to file a petition. Also, Petition forms may be printed out from the site below.
More Information on NAFTA/TAA

Other Resources

Federal Bonding and Tax Credit Links
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDLE-EmployTrain/CDLE/1248095317815

http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDLE-EmployTrain/CDLE/1248095317839

Labor Laws
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDLE-LaborLaws/CDLE/1240336908932

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDLE-Main/CDLE/1240336821467

Department of Labor ELaws
http://www.dol.gov/elaws/

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
http://www.eeoc.gov/#

Contact Us

Learn more about all of the Business Tools available.

970-248-7560
Fax: 970-257-2219

Current Programs

KICKSTART
The Mesa County Workforce Center and Hilltop Community Resources are providing opportunities through internships for Young Adults in Mesa County, at no direct costs to the employer. How does it work? Q&A

Other Opportunities
Different funding sources create diversified training and education programs geared to serve various populations of our workforce. Check with a Business Development Representative to get more details and get up to the minute information on new programs being offered.

On-the-Job Training/Internships
On-the-Job Training or OJT is one of our most common training opportunities we offer. It is a limited-duration contract between an employer and the Mesa County Workforce Center, which provides for the training of a new employee who is also a participant in the Workforce Center program.

Benefits to the employer:

  • Reimbursement of 50% (up to 90% under certain circumstances) of the employee wage rate for a set period of time.
  • Internships usually involve 100% of the wages paid by the Mesa County Workforce Center directly to the participant
  • Academic and vocational screening of select applicants.
  • Worker receives the knowledge and skills essential to the needs of the employer.

How it works:

  • Employer notifies Mesa County Workforce Center staff of job opening.
  • Applicants are referred for employer interviews.*
  • Employer contacts Mesa County Workforce Center staff prior to hiring.
  • Employers may refer potential employees for On-the-Job Training/Interships*

Duration of OJT/Intership Agreement is determined by such factors as:

  • The occupation for which the employee is being trained.
  • The content of the training
  • Prior work experience of the employee
  • The available amount of funding

On-the-Job Training/Internships are an excellent opportunity for employers to cultivate new, qualified employees while minimizing the cost of training.

*Not all applicants referred by the employer or Mesa County Workforce Center may be eligible for On-the-Job Training/Intership.

Age Inclusive Management Strategies (AIMS) – Want to grow your workforce with experienced employees? Take advantage of an opportunity to enhance your efforts to recruit and retain your older workers compliments of The Next50 Initiative Foundation. To learn more, check out this link and scroll down to find the AIMS 2022 tab. 

(970)248-0871
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