Job seekers and employers in Martin County have a new full-service career center to turn to, and for the first time, it's open on weekends.
The REACH Center, located at 1815 SE Airport Road in Stuart, opened to the public this week, offering the same range of employment services available at other CareerSource Research Coast locations.
"We're pretty much offering all the services that we would offer at our CareerSource Research Coast center, such as employment services to job seekers and also to employers," said Monica Rivera, REACH Site Supervisor/Facilitator with CareerSource Research Coast. "We also have workshops there."
The center also serves as a direct line for residents who need help filing unemployment claims.
"If any individual has or needs assistance with unemployment, we do have a direct line where they can communicate with them," Rivera said. "We can guide them through the process of filing their claim to receive their benefits. So it's a full service center."
Rivera said the REACH Center is staffed to serve Martin County's large Hispanic population, with both English- and Spanish-speaking employees on hand.
"We definitely have a high population for Hispanics," Rivera said. "So we definitely have English and Spanish staff here and just prepared to provide the right guidance … they need to move forward in both of their careers and their lives."
Staff use individual assessments to identify barriers to employment and tailor support accordingly, Rivera said.
"Based on assessments and the results of the assessments, we can provide them with a better guidance on how to overcome those barriers to employment."
The opening marks a return of in-person career services to Martin County after CareerSource closed its previous Martin County Career Center roughly a year and a half ago as part of a regional consolidation.
"This is also us coming back into Martin County through partnerships that allow us to put that reach back here, because there's definitely a need for it here in Martin County," Rivera said.
The center also includes a lab and classroom space that local employers can use to train their own staff, Rivera said, including bringing in their own equipment for hands-on instruction.
No specific employer partners have been finalized for the space yet, Rivera said, though CareerSource officials say they expect that to grow over time.
Unlike CareerSource Research Coast's other locations, the REACH Center will offer hours every other Saturday, from 8 a.m. to noon — a first for the organization.
"So none of our other locations offer anything on Saturday," Rivera said. "So that's kind of a big deal because a lot of people have a hard time getting … during Monday to Friday times."
The REACH Center's regular hours are Monday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Friday from 8 a.m. to noon, and every-other-Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.
For additional information, contact CareerSource Research Coast at 866-4U2-HIRE or visit our website, www.careersourcerc.com