unemployment

As the public workforce system continues to redefine and refine remote service delivery, many local workforce areas are converting their traditional in-person workshop content on job search skills into recorded PowerPoints they post to the Internet. For many job seekers, this can be overwhelming, providing them with too much information to absorb at a time when they are already stressed by information overload. Microlearning — a strategy that breaks longer content into smaller, hyper-focused lessons — offers an alternative approach that staff can use to deliver job search skill development programming.

A new blog post by Amanda Bombino and Liana Volpe examines the concept and benefits of microlearning. It also provides detailed descriptions of two microlearning strategies — audiovisual media-based microlearning and interactive microlearning — and the technology tools that support microlearning strategy development and delivery. Readers should note that the Heldrich Center is not endorsing any of the proprietary products mentioned in the blog post.

Amanda Bombino is a Research Intern and Liana Volpe is a Research Associate at the Heldrich Center.

Tagline

A new blog post examines the concept and benefits of microlearning for the workforce development system.

Unemployment and Mental Health: An Important Opportunity for Cross-Sector Action

heldrich_heather — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 14:34:55 +0000

Unemployment and Mental Health: An Important Opportunity for Cross-Sector Action

Published Date

November 8, 2023

heldrich_heather Tue, 11/07/2023 - 14:34

Type

Topic

Impact of COVID Pandemic-Related Job Loss on Mental Health and Well-Being

Related Experts

Carl E. Van Horn, Ph.D.

Carousel Image

Mental_Health_Cropped.jpg

Carousel Enabled

Off

Carousel Heading

New Blog Post

Carousel Tagline

Dr. Carl Van Horn has co-authored a new Milbank Memorial Fund blog post

Language

English

Featured Image

Excerpt

Heldrich Center Director Dr. Carl Van Horn has co-authored a Milbank Memorial Fund blog titled Unemployment and Mental Health: An Important Opportunity for Cross-Sector Action, along with fellow New Jersey State Policy Lab research affiliates Joel Cantor, Dawne Marie Mouzon, and Jamie Walkup, regarding the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and unemployment.

Tagline

Heldrich Center for Workforce Development Director Dr. Carl Van Horn has co-authored a new Milbank Memorial Fund blog post.

Krepcio Interviewed for EJBTalks Podcast

heldrich_robb — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 16:46:49 +0000

Krepcio Interviewed for EJBTalks Podcast

Published Date

February 9, 2022

heldrich_robb Wed, 02/09/2022 - 16:46

Type

Topic

long-term unemployment

Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity

Carousel Image

Krepcio_Banner.png

Carousel Enabled

Off

Carousel Heading

News

Carousel Tagline

Krepcio Interviewed for EJBTalks Podcast

Language

English

Featured Image

Excerpt

Kathy Krepcio, Executive Director of the Heldrich Center, was a guest on EJBTalks, a Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy podcast hosted by Stuart Shapiro, Interim Dean of the Bloustein School. Kathy described the center’s work on unemployment and long-term unemployment and helping dislocated workers, including efforts to assist individuals who were laid off after the September 11 attacks as well as the center’s New Start Career Network, which helps long-term unemployed New Jerseyans over the age of 45. Kathy also discussed the center’s new work, including a study that aims to assess opinions of diversity, inclusion, and equity and evaluate responses by race, gender, income, and education. This new study will be used to promote more equitable workplaces and economic opportunities. She also detailed the center’s pandemic-related research on how New Jersey delivered services to individuals eligible for benefits under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

Listen at https://bit.ly/3ocQIT5

Tagline

Kathy Krepcio was recently interview for a Bloustein School podcast about the Heldrich Center’s research.

New Brief - Strategically Virtual: Implementing Job Search Services in a Virtual Environment

heldrich_robb — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 17:05:09 +0000

New Brief - Strategically Virtual: Implementing Job Search Services in a Virtual Environment

Published Date

July 27, 2021

heldrich_robb Mon, 07/26/2021 - 17:05

Type

Announcement

Topic

Strategically Virtual

workforce development

virtual services

job seekers

unemployment

Carousel Image

Man_Computer_Featured.jpg

Carousel Enabled

Off

Carousel Heading

New Brief

Carousel Tagline

Strategically Virtual: Implementing Job Search Services in a Virtual Environment

Language

English

Featured Image

Excerpt

In Strategically Virtual: Providing Job Search Support in COVID, Michele Martin of the Heldrich Center presented a three-tier model for working with individuals who are unemployed. This model emphasizes expanding beyond labor exchange and basic job search skill development, such as résumé writing and interviewing workshops. It encourages the public workforce system to adopt more human-centered, holistic approaches to working with job seekers that center safety, care, community, and coaching as primary service strategies.

In a new brief, Strategically Virtual: Implementing Job Search Services in a Virtual Environment, Martin shares strategies for implementing the three-tier model in a virtual environment, using technological tools to reach a broader audience of job seekers and leveraging technology to provide the supports that job seekers most need. The brief also discusses some key shifts in service delivery that agencies should consider to support the core needs of job seekers.

In conjunction with the release of the new brief, the Heldrich Center is pleased to offer a virtual conversation with Michele Martin about her briefs highlighting effective job search supports during the COVID pandemic and how the public workforce system can implement these job search strategies in a virtual environment.

The webinar will be held on Wednesday, August 11 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Space is limited and registration is required. Register here today. You can also copy and paste the following URL into your web browser and then register: https://bit.ly/SV_Webinar_0811

Upon registration, you will receive an email with the Zoom link for the webinar along with a password that you will need to enter in order to join the discussion. Be sure to check your spam and junk folders in addition to your inbox for the confirmation notice.

Michele Martin is Director of Technical Assistance at the Heldrich Center, Director of the New Start Career Network, and Director of the New Jersey Career Network.

Tagline

As workforce agencies plan their return to in-person services, the workforce system needs to consider not only the quality and content of its services, but also how to continue on the virtual journey that began abruptly in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States. Backtracking to in-person-only services will waste what has been learned during the pandemic and agencies will lose out on valuable opportunities to serve more people and provide more effective services.

Strategically Virtual: Implementing Job Search Services in a Virtual Environment

heldrich_robb — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 16:51:07 +0000

Strategically Virtual: Implementing Job Search Services in a Virtual Environment

Topic

virtual services

job seekers

Strategically Virtual

unemployment

heldrich_robb Mon, 07/26/2021 - 16:51

Type

Research Publications & Reports

Work Category

Program Development & Technical Assistance Products

Attachments

Strategically_Virtual_Implementing_Job_Search.pdf (181.24 KB)

Featured Image

Excerpt

Offers strategies for implementing a three-tier model for working with individuals who are unemployed, using technological tools to reach a broader audience of job seekers and leveraging technology to provide the supports that job seekers most need. Also discusses some key shifts in service delivery that agencies should consider to support the core needs of job seekers.

Tagline

New brief examines strategies for the workforce system to provide virtual support for job seekers.

Incorporating Wellness Programming into Job Search

heldrich_robb — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 12:35:48 +0000

Incorporating Wellness Programming into Job Search

Published Date

July 15, 2021

heldrich_robb Thu, 07/15/2021 - 12:35

Type

Announcement

Topic

workforce development

Carousel Image

Carousel Enabled

Off

Carousel Heading

New Blog Post

Carousel Tagline

Incorporating Wellness Programming into Job Search

Language

English

Featured Image

Excerpt

Increased job loss, accompanying social isolation, the expansion of virtual methods of communication, and general economic turmoil during the COVID-19 pandemic put significant strain on job seekers and the systems designed to help them get back to work. Job search burnout is increasing across a variety of professions and can hinder reemployment. Having fewer financial, social, and psychological resources can lead to job search fatigue, resulting in poorer long-term outcomes. In particular, long-term unemployment can lead to high levels of fatigue. Fortunately, there are ways that burnout can be combated, including mindfulness practices.

Companies often use wellness challenges to keep their workforce productive and engaged. Wellness challenges are short-term behavioral change contests, interventions, and team activities designed to improve employee health and morale by encouraging healthy habits. Recognizing that unemployed people don’t have access to these kinds of services that are critical to both the job search and employability, a new Medium blog post by Savannah Barnett and Stephanie D’Angelo explores using that same model for job seekers as part of workforce programming. The post examines a “Restoring Aliveness Challenge” that was organized for the New Jersey Job Seeker Community as well as tips for implementing wellness changes in workforce programming.

Savannah Barnett and Stephanie D'Angelo are researchers at the Heldrich Center.

Tagline

Companies often use wellness challenges to keep their workforce productive and engaged. A new Medium blog post explores using that same model for job seekers as part of workforce programming.

Five Reasons the Public Workforce System Should be Doubling Down on Virtual Services

heldrich_robb — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 17:31:07 +0000

Five Reasons the Public Workforce System Should be Doubling Down on Virtual Services heldrich_robb Thu, 04/15/2021 - 17:31

Type

Announcement

Topic

virtual services

job seekers

workforce development

unemployment

Carousel Image

Featured_Image_Virtual_Services.jpg

Carousel Enabled

Off

Carousel Heading

New Blog Post

Carousel Tagline

Five Reasons the Public Workforce System Should be Doubling Down on Virtual Services

Language

English

Featured Image

Excerpt

As more people are getting vaccinated and the possibility of reopening American Job Centers looms large, many state and local workforce agencies may be thinking that it’s time to return to the pre-pandemic days of providing only in-person services to America’s unemployed. The past 13 months have been challenging for professional workforce and reemployment staff and for job seekers as the workforce and unemployment system struggled to adapt to virtual, work-from-home conditions. While the desire to return to “normal” is understandable, it would be a significant missed opportunity to not take the lessons learned over the past year and use them to expand and vastly improve the workforce and unemployment system’s capacity to help job seekers in an online environment.

A new Medium blog post by Michele Martin offers five reasons that the workforce system should continue to emphasize virtual services:

The workforce and reemployment system doesn’t have the physical infrastructure to serve the millions of people who need help.
Virtual services free up in-person space for the people who need and want it the most.
Virtual services can reach job seekers who don’t normally visit American Job Centers or who are not in the Unemployment Insurance system.
Virtual services can help local areas effectively leverage resources.
Companies are becoming more virtual in hiring and job seekers need more opportunities to practice with virtual tools.

Tagline

New Medium blog post by Michele Martin offers five reasons that the workforce system should continue to emphasize virtual services.

Building Communities of Care in Workforce Development Programs

heldrich_robb — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 18:04:53 +0000

Building Communities of Care in Workforce Development Programs

Topic

Best Practices in Workforce Development

heldrich_robb Fri, 03/26/2021 - 18:04

Type

Research Publications & Reports

Related Authors

Liana Lin

Stephanie Walsh

Work Category

Program Development & Technical Assistance Products

Attachments

Building_Communities_of_Care_Brief.pdf (619.75 KB)

Featured Image

Excerpt

Defines and describes how the idea of community can inform local responses to unemployment, drawing on research about the needs of the unemployed, as well as on lessons learned from public libraries where community is at the center of what they do. Also makes the case for local Workforce Development Boards to broaden and redefine their roles as community organizations, focusing not just on aggregating community resources, but also on ensuring that unemployed Americans have access to safe and supportive community spaces that help them cope with the social and emotional fallout of unemployment. Concludes with recommendations for creating communities of care and providing community-focused services.

Tagline

New brief examines the vital role that public libraries play for all members of a community, including job seekers.

Heidkamp Quoted in New York Times

heldrich_robb — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 16:33:01 +0000

Heidkamp Quoted in New York Times heldrich_robb Thu, 03/25/2021 - 16:33

Type

Topic

Media Outlet

Carousel Image

Carousel Enabled

Off

Language

English

Featured Image

Excerpt

Maria Heidkamp is quoted in a New York Times article about the millions of workers who have left the labor force over the past year, whether it was due to COVID-related child care or health care issues or because they have become discouraged about the lack of employment opportunities and gave up looking for a new job. Many of these workers may want to return to the workforce, but will likely face challenges because of their period of long-term unemployment.

Heidkamp is Director of Program Development at the Heldrich Center.

Tagline

Maria Heidkamp is quoted in a story about individuals who have left the workforce.

Effective Job Search Support in the Time of COVID

heldrich_robb — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 11:31:45 +0000

Effective Job Search Support in the Time of COVID

Topic

Strategically Virtual

long-term unemployment

heldrich_robb Thu, 03/25/2021 - 11:31

Type

Research Publications & Reports

Work Category

Program Development & Technical Assistance Products

Attachments

Effective_Job_Search_Support_in_the_Time_of_COVID.pdf (152.11 KB)

Featured Image

Excerpt

Presents a three-tier model for providing more comprehensive support to job seekers based on best practices and real-world experiences in serving the unemployed. Discusses how current job search strategies offered by the public workforce system are insufficient for helping job seekers navigate the current economy. Offers and outlines a new model for job search assistance that is more expansive and robust for serving the millions of people out of work today based on the Heldrich Center's direct experiences in understanding what works, and what does not work, for diverse groups of the unemployed.

Tagline

Offers and outlines a new model for job search assistance.