During our program year 2021-22 and the COVID-19 pandemic, we adjusted to a “new normal” and developed innovative ways to continue serving both job seekers and employers. We had a large number of essential businesses remain open and serving the public and they continued to have hiring needs. Our sta rose to the challenge of continuing to identify and connect job seekers with these employers through the implementation of new technology. This technology changed how we do business every day - from employer to job seeker services and even sta training and development. Our team learned the new world of virtual recruitments for employers to assist in connecting them with job seekers while staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this di cult time, we leveraged our social media presence to share information about the continuing opportunities for employment and services o ered by our team, partners, and providers via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
To provide expertise and leadership to ensure that the workforce development system prepares people for current and future jobs that improve the economic conditions of the community.
To create the most e ective and responsive workforce development system in the country.
We continued to provide our services to employers and our program participants - Adults, Dislocated Workers, Youth, and Farm Workers through our regular formula funded grants as well as special state COVID grants; CalWorks/TANF participants through local partnerships; justice-involved participants through the Public Safety Realignment Act and Prison-to-Employment grants, and more. For employers, we added a 90% Reimbursement On-the-Job Training contract opportunity, a $2500 COVID Micro-Business Rebuild Grant, and an HR Hotline for direct Human Resources questions. We provided re-employment assistance for those displaced by businesses that closed due to COVID. We held over 80 virtual and in-person employer recruitments to connect them to job seekers and helped over 50 employers hire close to 400 people through On-the-Job Training contracts which put close to $2 million back into our local economy.
For job seekers, we added six paid transitional training classes that included: Bitwise/Pre-Apprenticeship Web Development, Café 1600/Culinary Arts, CityServ/Re-Entry Warehouse, Proteus/General O ce Clerk, Mexican-American Opportunity Foundation/O ce Occupations, and Labors of the Harvest/Food Recovery & Distribution. These classes provided opportunities for enrolled participants to “Earn while you Learn.”
Lastly, as COVID cases decreased, we were excited to participate in community events again. Our team joined in the annual Kern County Expo & STEMposium, the MLK Job & Resource Fair and graduation ceremonies for our Valley Build Multi-Craft Apprenticeship program to name just a few.
Our sta has demonstrated a high level of resiliency in their ability to innovate and adapt to a challenging environment while expanding their technology skills providing services to those that needed us most during the pandemic. We will continue to train and learn new technologies to better provide our services to all our customers.
Thank You,
Alissa Reed WDB Board Chair Teresa Hitchcock Assistant County Administrative O cer- Employers’ Training Resource
- Bakersfield College
- California Department of Rehabilitation
- California Indian Manpower Consortium, Inc.
- Cerro Coso Community College
- Community Action Partnership of Kern
- Delano Joint Union High School District
- Department of Human Services
- Employment Development Department
- Farmworker Institute for Education & Leadership Development
- Housing Authority of Kern County
Bakersfield
1600 E. Belle Terrace
Bakersfield, CA 93307
Phone: (661) 325-HIRE
FAX: (661) 635-2768
Mon-Fri 8am - 5pm
Delano
707 Main Street, Suite #5
Delano, CA 93215
Phone: (661) 721-5800
FAX: (661) 721-5850
Mon-Fri 8am - 5pm
Ridgecrest
540 Perdew Avenue, Suite B-2
Ridgecrest, CA 93555
Phone: (760) 384-5995
FAX: (760) 446-0732
Mon-Fri 8am - 5pm
- Inyo County Health & Human Services
- Job Corps
- Kern Community College District
- Kern High School District
- Latino Coalition for Community Leadership
- McFarland Unified School District
- Mono County Social Services Department
- SER–Jobs for Progress, Inc.
- Taft College
- Tehachapi Unified School District
- Wasco Union High School District
- YouthBuild
EPIC (Youth Center)
(Ages 18-24)
2211 "H" Street Bakersfield, CA 93301
Lake Isabella 5540 Lake Isabella Boulevard, Suite E-3
Lake Isabella, CA 93240
Lamont 8300 Segrue Street Lamont, CA 93241
Mojave 2300 State Highway 58 Mojave, CA 93501
Olive Drive
1129 Olive Drive, Suite H Bakersfield, CA 93308
Shafter
115 N. Central Valley Highway Shafter, CA 93263
Taft 119 N. 10th Street
Taft, CA 93268
The Business Center 1129 Olive Drive, Suite C Bakersfield, CA 93308
Veterans Service Department
1120 Golden State Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93301
(For Veterans Only)
Mammoth Lakes
1290 Tavern Road, Suite 229
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546
Walker
107384 Highway 395
Walker, CA 96107
Bishop
1360 N. Main Street Bishop, CA 93514
Economic Development* merged into Business
Laura Barnes Associated Builders & Contractors
Leo Bautista Kern Oil & Refining
Kelly Bearden* CSUB Small Business Development Center
Richard Chapman* Kern Economic Development Foundation
Stacy Ferreira Clinica Sierra Vista
Greg Gutierrez Oilfield Site Prep Contractor
Nick Hill Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce
Karen King Golden Empire Transit District
Greg Knittel Centralize HR
Anita Martin Kern Health Systems
Brenda Mendivel Bakersfield Family Medical Center
Clare Pagnini Mac Pherson Oil Company
Alissa Reed Kern Oil & Refining
Jay Tamsi
Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Todd Yepez PCL Industrial Services
John Adams Operating Engineers Local 12
Steven Gomez Plumbers, Pipefitters & Refrigeration Local 460
Chris Gonzalez SMART Local #105
Shelly Tarver Employment Development Department
Priscilla Varela California Department of Rehabilitation
Dr. Dean McGee Kern High School District
John Means Kern
District
Norma Rojas-Mora Bakersfield College
Brian Holt
IBEW Local #428
John Moralez Teamsters Local Union #87
John Spaulding
KIM Counties Building & Constructuin Trade Council
Teresa Hitchcock Employers' Training Resource
Dale Countryman Retired CTE
Teresa Hitchcock Employers' Training Resource
Brian Holt IBEW Local #428
Karine Kanikkeberg KHSD, Career Resource Department
Clare Pagnini Mac Pherson Oil Company
Norma Rojas-Mora Bakersfield College
Leticia Perez Kern County Board of Supervisors
Jayme Stuart Foster Youth
Greg Terry Bakersfield Police Department
David Villarino FIELD - Farmworker
Todd Yepez PCL Industrial Services
Community College Randy Martin Covenant Community Services Jeremy Tobias Community Action Partnership of Kern
As we move forward, we will continue to align training with in-demand and higher wage industries. We believe that Healthcare OJT’s (specifically nursing) and paid Transitional Jobs training will continue to be in heavy demand. While these trainings were not a part of our service delivery model a few years ago, they have become an important part of how we serve clients today.
Additionally, we are looking to strengthen and expand our service delivery through additional grant applications. We are partners of a regional grant application called High Road Training Partnerships (HRTP). Funds from this grant will allow us to further serve Healthcare industry clients. We are also looking to serve homeless veterans and English Language deficient clients through specific grants that will allow us to provide wrap around services and help these individuals get on the path to self-sustaining wages. If successful, we are looking at securing nearly $8 million
Our Client Services and Employer Services divisions have done an outstanding job of placing more Out-of-School Youth into work experience opportunities with further successes on the horizon. As this happens, our hope is that the rate of disconnected youth in Kern County will begin to reduce significantly.
Overall, we believe that we are well positioned to handle the current and future needs of both employers and job seekers because of outstanding sta commitment and
• Computers, printers, fax machines and copiers
• Internet access for job search purposes
• Self-referrals to jobs identified through CalJOBS
• Faxing and copying of resumes
• On-site employer recruitments
• Access to telephones to contact EDD (Employment Development Department) and potential employers
• Resume and Interview Skills Workshops
• Job Squad on Facebook Live
• On-Air Announcements
• Mock Interview Virtual Workshop
• CalJOBS Job Seeker Services Workshop
• Veterans Job Club Operation V.I.P.
• State Employment Virtual Workshop
• Criminal Record Expungement Workshop
- Accounting
- Auto and Diesel Mechanic
- Barber Training
- Bookkeeping
- Business Administration
- Certified Nursing Assistant
- Computer Aided Drafting
- Cosmetology
- Dental Assistant
- EERE Technician
- Graphic Design
- General O ce Worker
- Healthcare Worker
- Human Resources Management Certificate
- Licensed Vocational Nurse
- Medical Assistant
- On-the-Job Training
- Petroleum Safety and Health Preparation
- Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Technician
- Resident Nurse
- Safety and Risk Management Certificate
- Solar Photovoltaic
- Truck Driving
- Welding and more
America’s Job Centers of California (AJCC) provide a comprehensive range of employment and training services for job seekers and employers. Together the centers link all state and local workforce services and resources across the counties, state, and country.
90% Reimbursment for OJTs for small employers (less than 50 employees) was o ered.
25 small businesses participated with 52 OJTs at the 90% reimbursement rate.
Employers’ Training Resource partnered with Community Action Partnership of Kern, Kern Economic Development Corporation, Small Business Development Center, and Women's Business Center to o er microbusinesses a $2,500 grant to build and reopen their businesses.
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Employers’ Training Resource o ered employers in the Kern, Inyo, Mono areas access to a Human Resources hotline where they could have questions answered by qualified Human Resources professionals.
- AIMES
- Advanced Industrial Services
- Advanced Micro Resource
- Allied Universal
- ASAP Home Health Inc.
- Axess St ng Services
- Bakersfield ARC
- Bakersfield Behavioral Hospital
- Bakersfield Family Medical Group
- Bakersfield Fire Department
- Bethlehem Construction, Inc
- BJ's Brewhouse
- Bolthouse Farms
- California Dairies, Inc
- Cargill
- Clinica Sierra Vista
- Continental Labor & Sta ng Resources
- Copper River Seafoods
- Cracked Egg Café
- Dollar General
- E&E Foods
- Empire AG Transport
- EPIC de Cesar Chavez
- Esparza Enterprises, Inc.
- Exact Sta
- Express Employment Professionals
- GAF
- General Production Services
- Hall Ambulance
- Henrietta Weill Memorial Child Guidance Clinic
- Kern County Probation Department
- Kern Health Systems / Kern Family Health Care
- Kern Medical
- Kern River Transitional Care
- Kern Valley Healthcare District
- KS Industries
- Lamont Public Utility District
- Maxim Healthcare Services
- McFarland USD
- McNally's Restaurant
- MID CAL Labor Solutions, Inc
- MTS
- Murray Family Farms
- Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command
- New Advances for People with Disabilities
- Oldenkamp Trucking
- Panama-Buena Vista USD
- PCL Construction
- Performance Food Group
- PPG Aerospace
- Primo's
- Quinn Company
- Randstad
- Robert Half Talent Solutions
- Rosewood Senior Living
- Special Explorers Center
- SRS Combine
- Staples Energy
- Stevens Transportation
- TA/Petro
- Tailored Brands
- Trans Valley Transport
- United Sta ng Associates
- Vallarta Supermarket
- Valley Achievement Center
- Valley Convalescent Hospital
- Volt Workforce Solutions
- Wienerschnitzel
- Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds
- UniSea
Pre-Apprenticeship Web Development Program (13 Weeks)
This pre-apprenticeship program covers computer, internet and web basics, HTML/CSS fundamentals, and using code editor to write and debug code.
Café 1600 Culinary Arts Program (6 Months)
Students are provided the opportunity to learn both the front and back operations in a working restaurant setting. They learn the various aspects of a fully operational kitchen and dining room.
Re-Entry Employment Success (6 Months)
This program is targeted for formerly incarcerated ex-o enders to get training in a warehouse.
General O ce Clerk Program (14 weeks)
This program helps participants develop the vocational and soft skills needed for employment in the clerical field. O ce skills training, including keyboard and 10-Key, with paid work experience after class completion.
Warehouse/Logistics (13 Weeks)
Through a unique partnership between Bakersfield Adult School, BARC, County of Kern, and Kern Alliance of Business, Recycling Lives o ers a classroom training program that provies adult learners with the principles of the recycling process, including entrepreneurship and business fundamentals.
MEXICAN-AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY FOUNDATION
O ce Occupations (Open entry/Open exit)
Self-paced, instructor led training in o ce skills including typing certification of 35wpm+, file management, and o ce equipment safety, with paid work experience after class completion.
LABORERS
THE HARVEST
Food Recovery & Distribution (6 Months)
This program o ers job training to help candidates obtain a well paid job while they help feed hungry families. Candidates recieve training in the food recovery and distribution industry, including truck driving for those who qualify.
Small businesses that were significantly impacted by the Covid-19 Pandemic were able to apply for a $2,500 microbusiness grant to get support they needed to open after the pandemic.
We provided No-Cost services and resources to farmworkers and their dependents. ETR assisted by connecting clients to vocational training opportunities, job search assistance workshops, paid work experience programs, book assistance for college students, rent and utilities assistance and additional resources.
The ValleyBuild Multi-Craft Pre-Apprenticeship training provided a wide array of classes for each trade labor union. This was a classroom and hands on specific instruction and training that prepared students for careers as cement workers, electricians, plumbers and pipefitters, operating engineers and more.
ValleyBuild provides training to meet the strong need for construction workers around California. These graduates are now ready for construction careers. They were joined by labor leaders, workforce representatives, and their families to celebrate their great achievement.
Seventeen men and women were honored as the first-ever Kern County graduates of an apprenticeship readiness program under the ValleyBuild partnership.
Businesses in Kern County were invited to showcase their business at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center for a job and resource fair. They were able to meet candidates face-to-face, and advertise open positions in Kern County. Community organizations and Service providers were also invited to join other federal, state, local and private organizations to highlight their services.
A total of 130 job seekers and 41 Employers and Community Service Providers attended the event.
APRIL 1, 2022
The Kern County Career & STEM Expo is a career awareness event geared towards the students and employers of Kern. The focus of the event is to build career and STEM awareness for tomorrow’s workforce.
Over 120 employers and educators from Kern County had the opportunity to promote the di erent career opportunities that are available within their companies through fun interactive booths.
We had over 3,000 middle school and high school students attend this very successful event!
APRIL 26 & 27, 2022
Arel Moodie is an author, entrepreneur, coach, and professional speaker. EPIC-enrolled clients were invited to his virtual training to learn :
- Key characteristics of a highly e ective leader
- How to foster a culture of inclusion and transparency
- Best practices for successfully coaching and mentoring
- The best communication techniques to utilize between employees and managers
- Strategies for creating structures and processes designed to motivate teams to excel in their roles
UNLOCK YOUR PERSONAL GREATNESS CONFERENCE & JOB FAIR
JUNE 29, 2022
WIOA-enrolled clients joined Arel Moodie, K-Rahn Vallatine, and Schwartzen Precil for a presentation on how to become the type of employee that everyone wants to hire and almost never get fired. A job fair was held later that day to help connect participants to employers with open job opportunities.
Social media is one of the main distributors of information. At America’s Job Center of Kern, we connect with employers, job seekers, and young adults via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Youtube. We post recruitments, workshops, trainings, announcements and more!
Facebook and Instagram were our strongest platforms and we reached a broad audience including those in Kern, Mono, and Inyo counties.
August 2013
@AmericasJobCenter
October 2015
@AJCCKern
Youtube
November 2016
@AmericasJobCenterofKern
* The number of people who saw any content from your Page or about your Page.
August 2019
@AmericasJobCenterKern
Job Squad Live Premiere
March 2021
February 2022
Americas Job Center of Kern
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Job Squad was moved to Facebook Live where our audience joined virtually and were able to ask questions live. During this weekly broadcast, AJCC Job Developers announced current job openings, recruitments, workshops, trainings, and future events.
Job Squad goes live every Thursday at 9AM on Facebook
@AmericasJobCenter
Abigail Brandon is a registered nurse in the ER at Adventist Health Bakersfield. She started in the healthcare industry as an EMT in 2002; and since has worked on and o while taking care of her family; in 2019 she had her life turned upside down and was accepted into the nursing program shortly after, she didn't know how she was going to make it through, but luckily got some help.
She first heard about America's Job Center during orientation for her RN program and found out how they could possibly help her get through the program. Abigail decided to use America's Job Center’s services when she realized that she wasn't going to be able to pay for the schooling that she needed.
Her experience using America's Job Center was a very pleasant one, she indicated sta were very helpful, assisting her from printing her entire syllabus, to providing shoes and stethoscope once she got her job.
The biggest obstacle Abigail had to overcome in her pursuit of employment was childcare and financial at the time. She said the program at Bakersfield College a full-time program, even if they're not giving full-time credits; there was no time for anything else, so trying to juggle life at home with her children and making sure they were where they needed to be when they needed to be there, and making sure that she was able to keep a roof over her head was the biggest obstacles she faced.
Abigail would like to thank Kathy Campbell at America's Job Center, who has been amazing, as well as Yvette Solis, both very encouraging; always checked in with her if she didn't check in on time. She said they were very pleasant and enjoyed working with them.
She also indicated that the services o ered at America’s Job Center really did make a huge impact in her ability to stay in the nursing program, the financial aid that she was given in response or in way of textbooks and uniforms and the help provided to her with her first uniforms, stethoscope and working shoes have been a very big blessing.
“... I would absolutely recommend America’s Job Center services to any of my friends or family”
“First time there and they were very helpful they had the forms I needed to fill out right there. I wasn't even there an hour-Very fast and sta was very professional. Thank you”
“Great! Spent the amount of time there I was told I would and the entire process went smoothly and e ciently.”
“I had a great experience at Americas Job Center... the sta was so helpful! Helped me a lot through the workshops they o er! I'll definitely be returning for training when I am ready.”