Opportunity Knox Employment Services is, perhaps, one of the best kept secrets in the county.
OKES is an employment service that uses state-of-the-art training equipment, Internet databases, training services and more to help any county resident find a new job or a better job. The services are all free and are available to anybody.
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“We help people find jobs,” said Catherine Hedges, an Employment Services Counselor at OKES. “We have a great database, we do resumé writing as a free service, we have a copier machine, we give them resumé paper and we will mail out their resumés. We also have free telephone service.”
Anybody is eligible to go into the OKES office and use the services. They handle full-time and part-time jobs for seniors, veterans and students. It doesn’t matter if someone is employed or not. If anyone is looking for a better job, a second, part-time job or looking to get back into the workforce, they are eligible to use the services.
It should be noted — since some people are confused about this issue — that OKES is not the unemployment office. There is no longer an unemployment office in the county and OKES is not able or qualified to answer questions about unemployment benefits or related issues. They are able, however, to assist those who are unemployed in finding a job.
“We have people from all walks of life come in here,” added Hedges. “Anyone from a Ph.D. to someone fresh out of college looking for a job. We also help high school graduates looking for entry level positions and we can help students look for part-time positions after school or during the summer.”
OKES has a number of sources for job openings. One prime source is newspaper classified ads. They pull these from the Mount Vernon News and from papers in other cities in the central Ohio area such as Mansfield, Columbus and Newark. Employers will also call OKES with specific requests. This is often helpful to the employer because OKES can refer job candidates with the specific qualifications for the job. This can save the employer a lot of wasted time weeding out applicants who are not qualified for the particular position.
OKES also makes good use of job databases and Internet job search pages to help match the right person to the right job.
“We have several very good databases,” said Hedges. “We have SCOTI (the state employment registration system) where they can look for jobs. They can also put in information about what kind of job they are looking for. They will get a letter sent to their home or they will get a call from the call center if there is a match.”
The hub of the center is the resource room. This area offers computers hooked into the Internet to search job databases and employment sites and can be used for typing and printing resumés and cover letters. Copy and fax machines and telephones are available to use at no charge and there is also an area for job postings.
The OKES offers orientations every day at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. for those who have not used the resource room before. The orientation covers how to effectively use the job search room and gets the job seeker started on their resume and entered in the state employment registration system.
The full range of services for job seekers includes, resumé and cover letter writing, dislocated worker services, career counseling, assessment and testing, and youth programs. OKES also assists with GED preparation and testing and job interview techniques.
OKES provides programs and assistance to employers as well as job seekers. Conference rooms are available for teaching, training and holding job interviews. There are two classrooms available with video projectors and other teaching tools.
Each year they hold a job fair to match employers with those looking for new or better jobs.
“We usually wind up with about 350 to 400 job seekers at these fairs,’ said Carla Poland, a supervisor at OKES. “Due to our limited space we have about 26 employers every year. It’s been a great success and many employers are thankful we have that service.”
OKES can also provide facilities if employers want to hold their own job fairs.
“We have a lot of employers who do that,” added Poland. “We have about five to six of those a year at this point. But it keeps increasing every year.”