BUSINESS SERVICES NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 BUSINESS SERVICES NEWSLETTER KENOSHA COUNTY JOB CENTER September / October Volume 19 - Issue 5 Concealed Carry Law Information The State Senate passed a bill allowing people to carry concealed weapons. Under the bill, the State Department of Justice would have to issue permits to residents 21 & over who completed training and cleared background checks that showed they were not felons or otherwise prohibited from carrying guns. Jim Kreuser County Executive Permit holders could carry guns in taverns and other places that sell alcohol, provided they were not drinking. Under current law, guns are banned in schools, on school grounds and in school zones - the area 1,000 feet beyond school grounds. The bill keeps in place the ban on carrying guns in schools and on school grounds, but would allow permit holders to carry guns in areas just off school grounds. Guns would be banned from law enforcement offices, prisons, jails, courthouses, secure mental health facilities, and the areas of airports beyond security checkpoints. Guns would be allowed in city and state parks, an issue that raised concerns among some opponents of the bill. Private businesses could post signs to keep guns out of their buildings. Signs could also be posted in government buildings, such as city halls and the State Capitol. But guns could not be banned from government-owned grounds, meaning they could be carried on the Capitol lawn or the Milwaukee Public Zoo. State religious groups have said that the bill should have prohibited carrying concealed weapons in churches instead of requiring individual churches to post signs prohibiting concealed weapons. Under the bill, private individuals and groups that allow concealed carry on their property would have blanket immunity from any legal liability from that decision. Groups and individuals who post signs prohibiting concealed weapons would not receive that immunity. Inside this issue: Concealed Carry Law 1 Getting to Know You 2 NCRC 2 October 4th 3 Job Fair Results 3 Social Networking 4 Upgrading Skills 5 Congratulations 5 Calendar of Events 6 Job Fair Registration Permits that require training can cost a maximum of $50 and be valid for five years. Renewing a license would cost $25. To get a permit, people would have to offer proof they have passed a course on firearms training, firearms safety or hunter safety. People with permits from other states could carry concealed weapons in Wisconsin as long as they had gone through training and a background check in their home state. Whenever carrying concealed weapons, people would have to have permits and photo IDs with them. Police could check the database of permit holders only to confirm the validity of a permit that someone produced or to investigate whether someone lied in applying for a permit. Police could not routinely check the database when pulling someone over. The bill would also allow people to carry loaded, uncased guns in their cars. Now, guns are allowed in vehicles only if they are unloaded and kept in cases. Nothing has been published yet on how the permits will be distributed. The government is deciding whether the firearms centers or the DMV will be issuing these. Some individuals are taking the Utah fire arm safety class which is eligible for reciprocity in Wisconsin after November when the law takes effect. Employers should review current policies including workplace violence. Employers should also review signage that they would like to display on their entrance doors. All public and private property owners should place signage at the front of the entrance if they intend to prohibit individuals from concealed carry. More information will be released no later than November 1, 2011 when the bill is enacted. For more information on firearms training classes in the area, visit Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinal

2 There are about 3,000 private sector employers in Kenosha County. They range in size from mom and pop businesses to large corporations. The largest employer group is made of small businesses with less than a dozen employees. Business purposes range from doing pet grooming to providing comprehensive hospital care. These establishments constitute the economic heart of our community; and all are important to us! We will soon be conducting a county wide survey of private sector businesses so as to better serve their needs. We will be asking about hiring plans, what employers think of the area s workforce and what they think of the services we provide. Not every business will be contacted. In fact, most businesses will not hear from us until the results of the survey are released. That s because we will be doing a selective sampling of local employers some large, most small, some manufacturers, some retails and maybe a dog groomer. The selection process is designed to make sure that the results represent a truly representative cross section of Kenosha County employers. The Business Services Team at the Kenosha County Job Center strives to help local employers find qualified employees. Survey results will assist the team in increasing its understanding of what s on the minds of people in the employer community and in planning for meeting the needs of that community. Results will also help better understand any needs for improvement in the area workforce. If you get a card, a call or are otherwise contacted to ask for your participation, please respond. Our purpose is only to get to know employer needs a little better so that we can continue to serve you. Getting to Know YOU a little better, helps us all. Do You Know How to Confirm Candidates Skills? You can with the National Career Readiness Certificate! Come join us for a complimentary lunch and hear how one company uses the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) in recruiting and hiring qualified candidates successfully! What: Where: The National Career Readiness Certificate & WorkKeys CATI Renaissance Blvd., Sturtevant, WI When: September 29, 2011 Time: Speaker: 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Patrick Hayes Founder & Chairman of the Board, Fabric Images, Inc. Enjoy a free lunch, hear Patrick Hayes speak and ask questions. Brian Solomon, Director of Job Service for the State of Wisconsin, will also be available to answer your questions. Seating is limited. Register today at Page 2

3 Tuesday, October 4th is our final Job Fair for It will be held at the Kenosha County Center in Bristol, WI from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. We incorporated a fee structure this year and that will continue as follows: Premier Locations (includes electricity) - $ Prime Locations - $ or $ w/electricity All other Locations - Free of Charge or $25.00 w/electricity If you are interested in recruiting at the Job Fair, please return the attached registration form. For more information, you may contact Rebecca at or Business.Services@kenoshacounty.org. Hope to see you there! The Veterans Unit partnered with us on Wednesday, July 20th to hold a Tri-County Veterans & Community Job Fair. It was a great success! We had a full house, with 59 businesses registered having over 600 job opportunities available. Over 400 job seekers came through looking to find a position that matched their skills. Employers reported potential hires of individuals as the result of attending the Job Fair. Some comments of employers attending the Job Fair were: This is one of the most organized Job Fairs I have participated in. Wonderful Job! : ) Thank you for having us!! Today s fair was very beneficial for our company. We thank you for having us and look forward to being a part of future events. The staff was wonderful and went above and beyond to check on us and get us drinks. Thank You! This was my first time here and I love the set-up and hope that I may return. Great Exposure to some Great People! Page 3

4 Social Networking Sites and Our Lives by Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project, Kristen Purcell, Associate Director, Research Pew Internet Project, Lauren Sessions Goulet, University of Pennsylvania, and Keith N. Hampton, University of Pennsylvania - June 16, Summary of Findings Questions have been raised about the social impact of widespread use of social networking sites (SNS) like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter. Do these technologies isolate people and truncate their relationships? Or are there benefits associated with being connected to others in this way? The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project decided to examine SNS in a survey that explored people's overall social networks and how use of these technologies is related to trust, tolerance, social support, and community and political engagement. The findings presented here paint a rich and complex picture of the role that digital technology plays in people's social worlds. Wherever possible, we seek to disentangle whether people's varying social behaviors and attitudes are related to the different ways they use social networking sites, or to other relevant demographic characteristics, such as age, gender and social class. Facebook dominates the SNS space in this survey: 92% of SNS users are on Facebook; 29% use MySpace, 18% used LinkedIn 13% use Twitter There is considerable variance in the way people use various social networking sites: 52% of Facebook users and 33% of Twitter users engage with the platform daily, while only 7% of MySpace and 6% of LinkedIn users do the same. Like Us on FACEBOOK! Like Us on LinkedIn! Page 4

5 By: Deb Davidson, Vice President, Workforce & Economic Development Division - Gateway Technical College We hear it every day: There s lots of people out of work, but when I have a job opening, I seem to get many applications but few who have the qualifications my company is seeking. If you haven t said it yourself, you likely have heard it from others. There is a talent mismatch occurring and employers are turning to new and different ways to post their job openings and fill their jobs. Reviewing an application from someone with 20 years experience is no longer enough to tell you if they have the skills you need today. Gateway Technical College is celebrating their 100 th Anniversary this year. What started in 1911 with industry people around the table collaborating on the skills needed for the growth of manufacturing in the city of Racine has played out throughout the last century over and over again. Your technical college exists to provide skills training and education that match the needs of our tri-county employers. We use advisory committees of industry people who review each of our programs for relevance and currency. We have a one-year technical diploma and we also develop Bootcamps in the areas of CNC Operators, Welding and Machine Repair. Our 12 th CNC Bootcamp begins on September 12 th and ends in December In addition, Gateway offers customized solutions in training and stands ready to help up-skill your current and future workforce. Based on the comments we hear from employers, we developed a series of 5 courses including; Manufacturing Processes, Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing, Gauging & Inspection, Blueprint Reading and Introduction to Manufacturing Excellence (Lean and Six Sigma). These courses represent the basic skills that manufacturers are seeking in their new hires regardless of their experience. For more information please contact Debbie Davidson at davidsond@gtc.edu or call Robin s Nest Cakery Seventh Avenue Custom sweet shop Kenosha Urgicare Green Bay Road When you re sick.you shouldn t have to wait Panda Express th Street Gourmet Chinese Food Aspen Dental th Street Dental services AT&T Retail Store th Street Cell phones and plans In each newsletter, we like to congratulate and/or welcome businesses that we ve seen or heard of that have come to Kenosha County. Kenosha County is changing all the time and if you know a company we may have missed, please contact us. Page 5

6 KENOSHA COUNTY JOB CENTER A Division of the Department of Human Services John Jansen, Director BUSINESS SERVICES 8600 Sheridan Road Kenosha, WI To find out more about our services, contact one of the Business Services Representatives: Watch for this bulletin every other month to discover what is currently happening in the Kenosha Employment and Training community. Jeff Kehl Julie Black Dennis Pierce Eric Guptail Jerry Costello Rebecca Freund Barb Welch Fax # TEAM means Together Everyone Achieves More. If you would like more information about this newsletter and the information it contains, or if you have any comments or suggestions, please contact Author Unknown Calendar of Events: September 22, 2011 Business After 5 $5 for Chamber members / $10 non-members 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Platinum Systems, Inc Green Bay Road September 27, 2011 No Nonsense Retention.Painless Strategies to Retain Your Best People - $10 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. CATI Renaissance Blvd. Register at September 29, 2011 Utilizing a National Credential to confirm Workforce Readiness - Free 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. CATI Renaissance Blvd. Register at October 4, 2011 Kenosha County Job Fair 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Kenosha County Center - corner of Hwys. 45 & 50 Prices Vary - see attached registration form Contact Rebecca at or business.services@kenoshacounty.org October 25, 2011 Economic Forum presented by KABA & Chase - Free 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. The Club at Strawberry Creek To register - info@kaba.org October 25, 2011 Responding to Complaints of Discrimination with the State Equal Rights Division - $10 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CATI Renaissance Blvd. Register at Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. - Albert Camus Disclaimer: The information contained within this newsletter is intended to be advisory in nature only and should not be Page 6