Job seekers take time to explore The Wizard

Curious job seekers filed into the Roanoke One Stop Workforce Center yesterday to learn firsthand about The Virginia Education Wizard. Among those in the audience were individuals who had recently lost their jobs or were looking for training opportunities.Others had just started their college search and wanted information on Financial Aid. Chancellor Glenn DuBois and Wizard creator Dr. Craig Herndon demonstrated that The Wizard could customize a search to fit anyone’s career or education interests.

“The Wizard is such valuable resource to the job seekers who come to the One Stop Center. Many of them don’t know where to start looking for new career. This tool brings all that information together and is even community-specific,” says Kim Moore, Workforce Services Manager at the Roanoke Workforce Center.   

A line forms at the VEC Roanoke One Stop Center.

The Roanoke Workforce Center serves job seekers 16 and older by bringing together state agencies and private partners to guide individuals back to employment. Housed in the Virginia Employment Commission building, the One-Stop Center is planning a big move down the road as a Comprehensive One-Stop, bringing all partners to one location to offer more integrated services.

After sitting through the presentation, Joy McKee, a resource room assistant at the Roanoke Workforce Center took time to expore The Wizard. With a daughter entering high school and ambitions to go back to school herself, Joy says that she sees value in the tool for both of them.

Joy McKee assists Roanoke residents in the Resource Center.

“It’s just so easy to use and to navigate, anyone can do it. Many of the people can the come to the One Stop are often frustrated by the job searching process. This simplifies things and pinpoints exactly what they’re looking for,” she says.

To read more about The Wizard’s launch in Roanoke, check out this article in The Roanoke Times.

The Virginia Education Wizard will continue it’s tour of the Commonwealth through March. To find out where it will be next, visit the Wizard Newsroom.