Tanya Essien gives a presentation on Hope Central, a free online service that helps people take those sometimes difficult steps in moving from one job to the next.
Tanya Essien attended the Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System Job Fair in Zachary to promote Hope Central.
A file photo shows Eurine Carter Sr., 68, of Kenner, trying to figure out how to find work by looking at the notices on the front entrance to the Louisiana Workforce Commission office on Airline Drive in Metairie on Thursday, April 2, 2020. The coronavirus has created record unemployment in the country. Carter said he is a handyman that’s good at painting, pressure washing, and much more. He was also laid off when the Avondale Shipyard shut down.
Tanya Essien is a senior manager with Kuder, a career planning firm that has partnered with the Louisiana Workforce Commission to provide Hope Central.
Essien attended the Ouachita Young Adult and Youth Fair in Monroe last year in March.
Tanya Essien gives a presentation on Hope Central, a free online service that helps people take those sometimes difficult steps in moving from one job to the next.
Tanya Essien is a senior manager with Kuder, a career planning firm that has partnered with the Louisiana Workforce Commission to provide Hope Central.
Job recovery means more than just landing a new role.
Anyone who has ever lost a job unexpectedly knows about the mental energy required to deal with the shock that comes with a proverbial pink slip, let alone the subsequent job search or need to learn new skills to create a new career path.
Taking those next steps can be disheartening, and many simply need a helping hand in knowing where to turn and what to do next.
That’s where Hope Central comes in.
A free online service provided by the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) and career planning firm Kuder, Hope Central helps people navigate the potentially difficult path moving from one job to the next.
Tanya Essien attended the Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System Job Fair in Zachary to promote Hope Central.
Featuring guides, videos and other helpful pieces of advice, the site provides loads of useful information: it helps with deciding next steps, improving stress resiliency, taking the Hope-Action Inventory and providing access to crisis resources.
“Many people have realized the job demand has changed and they may not have the skill set to compete in the new job market,” said Tanya Essien, a senior manager with Kuder.
“The reality is daunting and often challenging. Losing a job can feel like losing a loved one.”
Essien offers the following tips on what displaced workers can do to get back on track.
According to Essien, Hope Central also brings in stakeholders from the education and business industries to help with networking opportunities for unemployed, dislocated adults and out-of-school youth.
Though the site isn’t designed to replace counselors, it does help the unemployed work through the whole-self process of searching for jobs and reassessing career plans and goals.
“The best part of the system is it’s accessible to everyone in Louisiana,” Essien said.
Not only does Hope Central help those who are unemployed, but it also helps employers and managers too. The site offers resources to help managers guide their teams and build skill sets in the workplace.
A range of videos are available, with titles such as “Creating a Resilient Workplace” and “Handling Difficult Conversations.”
Essien attended the Ouachita Young Adult and Youth Fair in Monroe last year in March.
Alexia Mitchell, a workforce development specialist at the LWC, used the program to adjust to the workplace after a period of unemployment and underemployment.
“Hope Central gives me a place to recharge,” Mitchell said. “It has the tools and resources needed to thrive mentally. It’s helped me realize how to adjust to things outside my control.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, when the world went into lockdown Louisiana’s unemployment rate jumped from 6.8% in March 2020 to 13.5% the following month. While the unemployment rate has dropped significantly since then (to 3.4% in September 2022), the labor market has nevertheless changed markedly.
“We are still recovering from the disproportionate number of people with low computer skills jumping back into the job market,” Essien said.
A file photo shows Eurine Carter Sr., 68, of Kenner, trying to figure out how to find work by looking at the notices on the front entrance to the Louisiana Workforce Commission office on Airline Drive in Metairie on Thursday, April 2, 2020. The coronavirus has created record unemployment in the country. Carter said he is a handyman that’s good at painting, pressure washing, and much more. He was also laid off when the Avondale Shipyard shut down.
Along with offering courses to help people adjust to online learning, it also helps them sign up for Tech Ready. Offering more than 9,000 online courses ranging from computer skills to healthcare and hospitality, Tech Ready gives Louisianans free access to courses that help develop the knowledge and skills needed to find more meaningful employment.
All courses are online and self-paced so users can work around their own schedules. Certificates can be earned in three to six months.
To register for Tech Ready Louisiana, residents have to be 18 or older and have to create a HiRE account then register for a course.
Chris Fiore, the former director of public information at the LWC, said both Hope Central and Tech Ready were parts of LWC’s motto, “We put people to work.”
“That’s where our focus is, and we want to make sure people thrive in this economy,” he said.
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