Career Solutions Center bolsters local economy

Randall Domangue takes great satisfaction in his role as the Houma site coordinator of the Louisiana Works Business and Career Solutions Center.

“I like knowing that every time we place a person in a job, we’re making a positive impact on the economy,” he said.

And that’s essentially the purpose of the Louisiana Works Business and Career Solutions Center, a free employment service for people who need work and businesses that need workers.

“We attract people looking for new jobs or information on career advancement opportunities, as well as people who are looking to improve their work skills,” Domangue added.

The Louisiana Works Business and Career Center has been around since the 1940s, but the career solutions service, put into place by former Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s administration, has been in existence for a year and a half.

When unemployed workers were interested in receiving vocational training or attending a work connection office in the past, they’d have to visit multiple locations.

These days, everything is located in one building.

“We have Department of Labor and Work Connection employees intermingled in every part of the operation,” Domangue said.

Karen Maloz is the acting director of Houma’s Louisiana Works Business and Career Solutions Center.

Like Domangue, she finds fulfillment in her work.

“I enjoy the training aspect of my job because we provide financial assistance to people who don’t have funds needed to enroll in (job-training) educational programs,” Maloz said. “On the other hand, another facet of our organization is that we can also refer people to the Department of Labor for jobs.”

The agency’s workload will increase significantly in the event of an economic recession.

“Our jobs will get busier because it will increase the number of unemployment claims,” Domangue said. “But we’re flexible enough to deploy assets wherever we need them.”

According to Domangue, the Louisiana Works Business and Career Solutions Center is somewhat unique.

“As far as other state agencies go, you have ones that will help with job placement for disabled people only, but we’ll work with any type of client,” he said. “In addition, we do more with labor market stats than other agencies and we can do testing, such as Interest Inventory tests or Work Keys, which test a person’s skill and knowledge for part- and full-time occupations.”

The Louisiana Works Business and Career Center is located at 807 Barrow Street in Houma, 1711 Richfield Road in Thibodaux and 4847A Hwy. 1 Suite C in Napoleonville.

For more information, call (985) 873-6855.