SHARON, PA. Career center officially opens

The CareerLink Center provides services for both employers and job seekers.
By VIRGINIA ROSS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
SHARON, Pa. -- Although it's been serving area workers and employers since November, the Mercer County Team Pennsylvania CareerLink Center officially opened its doors Thursday.
On behalf of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, state labor and industry secretary Johnny J. Butler dedicated the facility at 217 W. State St. in Sharon.
Butler, along with Mercer County commissioners and area business people, participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony, which attracted more than 100 people.
"Each one of us must be the best we can possibly be," Butler said. "And we must seek to be the best of the best."
Butler said workers and trainers must focus on literacy, communication, job readiness, career skills and critical thinking.
"We better focus on human capital," he said. "We must invest [in people] and we must address the possible return of that investment."
Marketplace: Within the past two years, Pennsylvania has created career development marketplaces where many employment service offices, such as the Pennsylvania State Job Service, are housed under one roof.
The CareerLink center has been working to bring representatives from the state job service, Mercer County Community Action Agency, West Central Job Partnership and Mercer County Public Assistance Office to the Sharon site.
Among other services, CareerLink provides job training, skill evaluation services and Internet access to job seekers. Employers may post job openings on the CareerLink Web site and interview job applicants at the facility.
Thursday's activities included tours of the facility, which provides more than a dozen computers for online job searches, several computer labs, career consultation areas and training rooms.