Pikes Peak Workforce Center

How PPWFC can Help Your Business Succeed:

At the Pikes Peak Workforce Center we support business and promote employment. We help businesses solve their workforce-related business problems. Resources available to you include:

Recruiting & Personnel services including analysis of jobs, performance coaching, employee retention, job descriptions, job and skills testing and job matching.

Training & Education including customized training for your incumbent workers and supervisors and on-the-job training.

Financial services including employee wage and fringe benefits, dollars for wages, training, equipment and tax credits.

Business services including business decision making tools such as labor market trends, wages, legal issues, community networking, industry networking, and industry consultants.

To learn more about some of the specific services provided by the Pikes Peak Workforce Center, click on the links below:

1. Hiring Events – Save time, money and energy by interviewing multiple candidates at one time, in one place! PPWFC’s hiring sessions are designed with you in mind. Our Event Planner will search our statewide database for qualified candidates, prescreen for a match, send out invitations, and set up the interview.

You simply show up on interview day with your applications and your hiring managers. It doesn’t get much easier than that! Contact the PPWFC Event Planner at 667-3833 for help planning your next hiring session.

2. Posting a job with PPWFC

3. Work Experience/On the Job Training/Customized Training Programs

a. Work Experience (WEP) is your opportunity to help eligible participants learn good work habits and reinforce those habits through part-time work. This program provides valuable experience for workers who are changing careers. WEP participants are paid an hourly rate for a predetermined number of hours per week (20 to 32 hours max). The goals of the WEP are to help eligible participants obtain meaningful work, training, and employability skills which will develop their skills and enhance future employment opportunities. PPWFC will pay the employee’s salary and Workers’ Comp. Jobs made available to work experience candidates should NOT displace current members of your workforce. For more information on OJT, customized training or work experience, contact Paula at 667-3777.

b. On the Job Training (OJT) provides a potential employee with new skills and credentials in a demand occupation. As an employer this is your opportunity to help a potential employee gain valuable new skills and to learn how to do it “your way.” When the OJT employee completes training per the terms of the training contract, you may be reimbursed a portion of the employee’s wage for the training period.

c. Customized Training provides training for new or potential employees prior to being hired by your company. Once training is complete, your company may be reimbursed for a portion of the training costs.

4. Labor Market Info – Labor market information provided by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) helps you make good business decisions. CDLE surveys local employers twice a year for the Pikes Peak Area Job Vacancy Survey. The survey answers questions such as,

The total number of jobs open in the Pikes Peak Region
The number of employers reporting at least on vacancy
The industries with the largest number of vacancies
The average hourly wage for all vacancies
The number of full-time permanent versus part-time vacancies
The educational level required for vacancies
The level of difficulty employers face in filling open positions
And more!

5. Downsizing and Layoff Assistance

6. Information Sessions- PPWFC Information Sessions let you join forces with others in your industry to present the latest breaking industry news and job requirements to job seekers. As part of an industry panel you can educate workers as to the skills, experience and education levels you need in your business to be successful. When you need to inform potential employees about your industry, PPWFC is here to help! Just contact the PPWFC Event Planner at 667-3833 to set up an industry information session.

7. Hiring the Right Employee

8. Your Future Workforce - The youth of our community are your employees of tomorrow! By hiring youth today you can make sure they have the training and skills you need. Many youth look for summer/seasonal work through the PPWFC Governor’s Job Hunt program. Older youth frequently request a work experience. Learn how you can help prepare your future workforce for the world of work by contacting Duke Compton at Compton.d@ppwfc.org.

9. Tax Incentives

10. Facts and Fiction About Older Workers

Myth: They have more accidents and get sick more often.

Fact: Older persons have fewer on-the-job accidents, and insurance claims by older workers are not different than for all employees.

Myth: they can’t learn technology.

Fact: Seniors are willing students when the training is done right (respectfully, with low stress)

Myth: They don’t want to work.

Fact: Many retirees say they’d prefer to be working, at least part time.

Myth: They’re not as productive as younger employees.

Fact: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that older workers are every bit as productive as younger ones.

Myth: They’re not as bright as their younger counterparts.

Fact: The American Management Association reports that psychologists find that intelligence remains constant at least until age 70. [1]

Hiring an older worker is a smart decision that can be applied to your bottom line to improve your profitability!

11. Hire a Vet – You Bet! - There are over 62,000 Veterans within the El Paso and Teller counties. A significant workforce of technically trained, skilled, and highly motivated with a strong work ethic. Veterans have served our nation in an exemplary manner and they come prepared to meet your workforce needs of today and tomorrow. You Bet – Hire a Vet!

PPWFC offers an excellent opportunity for employers to participate on employer panels at our local military installations (USAF Academy, Peterson Air Force Base (AFB), Schriever AFB, and Ft Carson). Participation lets you observe, interact, and network with the pipeline of potential military candidates entering the civilian workforce. Think in terms of our nations’ sport teams. They scout, draft, and secure potential candidates for future growth of their organization. You can too! Call the Pikes Peak Workforce Center at 667-3700 and ask for your Local Veterans Employment Representative.

[1] Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers and Nexters in Your Workplace, Zemke, Ron, Raines, Claire and Filipczak Bob, 2000, p 61.