Western MD Consortium Hires New Business Services Specialist

The Western Maryland Consortium, one of Garrett County’s local workforce development agencies, recently announced the hiring of a new Business Services Specialist to help meet the needs of Garrett County businesses.
The Consortium, located at 14 South Eighth Street, Oakland (the former Oakland Armory), offers A wide range of services for those seeking employment and for businesses seeking employees or training for those employees.
Job Openings:
Is your business hiring? Let the Western Maryland Consortium be a resource for your business when looking to fill job openings. The Consortium can help you with the challenges of finding qualified candidates for the positions you are hiring and works with job seekers to enhance their skills and ensure they are job ready.
On-The-Job Training:
The Western Maryland Consortium also offers an On-the-Job Training (OJT) program. Not all OJT participants have to come from the Consortium. If your business has an applicant who resides in Western Maryland and is unemployed, underemployed, dislocated, or considered low income, he/she may be eligible to participate in the program. This “Reverse Referral” is an easy process that requires giving the applicant an enrollment session information sheet and pre-enrollment form, both of which are available at the Consortium’s office. The applicant contacts the Consortium’s office, and its staff takes it from there.
On-the-Job training allows workers to become skilled at a position while working on the job. In the end, your business has an experienced worker.
If an applicant is found eligible, the Consortium will reimburse your business for a percentage of the wages paid:
–For adult workers:  50% of wages
–For youth aged 18-24:  Up to 75% of wages
Workers must be full-time, working at least 32 hours per week. Reimbursement time will vary depending upon the job and the employee’s skills at the time of hire.
The OJT program generally runs from 4 to 26 weeks, until the employee is proficient. Pending satisfactory evaluation, the employer agrees to hire the worker permanently.
Work Experience:
Work experience allows an employer to teach a worker how to do a job at the actual job location before being hired.
For six weeks, the employer can train the eligible employee at the Consortium’s cost. The Consortium pays for everything, including wages, workers’ compensation, and taxes for the worker to train full-time. Afterward, pending satisfactory evaluation, the employer agrees to hire the employee permanently.
In some instances, On-the-Job Training can be combined with Work Experience.
For more information, please contact Mary Keller at (301) 334-8136 or mkeller@westmdcon.org.