December 2019
We brought in the year with excitement as we moved into our new space located at 951 Commerce Pkwy in mid-December of 2019. The location provides a shared space for Allen County Job & Family Services and OhioMeansJobs Allen County to effectively serve Allen County.
The 45,000-square-foot facility was originally Lima Memorial’s Heart Institute of Northwestern Ohio, but with some renovations and updates, the building has been flipped into a welcoming space to assist community members on their path to self-sufficiency.
January 2020
At the start of 2020, the doors were opened to the public while an additional building was being constructed right behind the main facility. The new structure, an 8,000-square-foot conference center, was partially funded by a $100,000 investment from Nutrien of Lima.
February 2020
Within two months of opening the doors at the new facility, the Workforce Development and Recruiting Center was complete.
It has hosted nearly 60 hiring events and scheduled interview events since its completion at the end of February 2020. The large space has assisted in adapting to the current restrictions on capacity and social distancing. It will continue to serve as a hub for strengthening the local workforce as it is utilized by employers to fill their open positions and train their new hires.
March 2020
Shortly after our move into the new facility and completion of the Workforce Development Center, all operations for both Allen County Job & Family Services and OhioMeansJobs Allen County were moved to an online platform.
Despite the difficulties that came with providing our services virtually, our staff adapted gracefully with Caseworkers and Career Consultants meeting with community members remotely.
May 2020
The transition went as smoothly as it could have and after two months of working remotely, the staff were brought back to the office in May 2020.
OhioMeansJobs – Allen County began a pivotal mission to strengthen the local workforce at a time when it was vitally needed. Career Consultants began assisting customers through one-on-one interactions over Zoom in the OhioMeansJobs Resource Room. Customers are still required to wear masks and have their temperature checked upon entrance into the building.
June 2020
In June 2020, we introduced a new scholarship program that provides funds for local high school seniors to continue their higher education after graduation.
Career Consultants have been able to help students in each of the 13 high schools in Allen County through weekly visits to educate them on the available resources. The establishment of these relationships with the local youth will benefit them as they enter into the workforce.
August 2020
In August 2020, Allen County Job & Family Services and OhioMeansJobs Allen County welcomed Congressman Jim Jordan. His visit provided productive conversation about the local workforce. With all of the obstacles that 2020 presented, there was certainly no shortage of jobs as over 1,900 open positions were posted in Allen County at the time of Congressman Jordan’s visit.
September 2020
Among the hundreds of open positions in Allen County, several hundred of them are positions in the healthcare field. In September 2020, OhioMeansJobs Allen County partnered with larger healthcare facilities, Lima Memorial and Mercy Health.
The campaign was pushed through targeted advertisements in mediums such as billboards, social media marketing, video marketing, and search engine marketing that directed interested viewers to a healthcare landing page where they were able to view various local positions in the healthcare field. Since the development of the healthcare landing page on the OhioMeansJobs Allen County website, it has brought over 2,000 viewers to the page.
October 2020
October 2020 marked 1 month since our 6 high school job coaches were able to return to the 13 high schools in Allen County. With this came the development of our high school landing page that was created to spread awareness on our involvement in the local high schools.
December 2020
In December 2020, we are closing out the year with a celebrated partnership with the University of Northwestern Ohio. This partnership makes OhioMeansJobs – Allen County the first OhioMeansJobs agency in the state to be present in a local college. We have released a landing page where college students will be able to filter through the available jobs in Allen County by Internship, Part-time work, or Full-time work.
We look forward to working with the local college students as they search for part-time work, internships related to their degree, or prepare to enter the workforce after graduation.