State Representative Tarah Toohil discussed workforce development initiatives to ensure that today’s student population is prepared for careers in the industrial sector at the latest Humboldt Park Association meeting, which was held at American Eagle Outfitters.

Rep. Toohil spoke about having a greater focus on promoting job availability in Greater Hazleton and joining together with the Pennsylvania CareerLink® office and regional businesses to provide students with the necessary skills they need to enter the workforce. This fall, Toohil will host the annual Jobs For You career fair at the Hazleton Area High School. The event gives students a look at jobs that are available for those interested in directly entering the workforce after graduation.

Toohil said she hopes the event will provide students with more educational opportunities to obtain jobs in the industrial trades and transportation sectors, such as Commercial Drivers License (CDL) and welding training.

“I’m working with PA CareerLink on making Jobs For You interactive. We also want to expose students to soft-skills training and resume writing,” Toohil said. “Students don’t have access to life skills like banking and filling out forms. Our responsibility is to make sure we are educating the next workforce.”

Toohil stressed that she is working to help make Pennsylvania an attractive location for companies to do business and educate the public about job openings.

“We need more communication to the community about what jobs are available in the area. I would like to set up workforce development meetings with companies to address their needs. We need to work together to focus on growing jobs to build the workforce and that builds revenue in our community,” she said.

In addition to job creation, Toohil spoke to attendees about the latest developments with Pennsylvania’s state budget bill, changes to the Medicaid and welfare programs, the pension reform bill and improvements to Luzerne County’s Children and Youth program.

The Humboldt Park Association will meet again on Thursday, October 5.