PA CareerLink reopens Bedford County location

EVERETT, Pa. (WTAJ) — PA CareerLink reopened its doors to the public on Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The CareerLink center, located next door to the Bedford County Technical Center, provides employment opportunities to people who want to change careers.

State and local officials showed face in the program Wednesday morning and delivered a few words of appreciation before cutting the ribbon. These officials were joined in an alliance to help reign in the project.

“It truly takes a village to help the workforce in any county,” Gwen Fisher, site administrator for the Blair and Bedford offices of PA CareerLink said. “We’re really fortunate to have a lot of great partners.”

“It’s critical that we have all the right players at the table,” Dan Kuba, Deputy Secretary of the PA Department of Labor and Industry said. “But, it’s more important that they understand. And workforce development is everyone’s issue. We have a lot of challenges, and we have to find opportunities for folks that may have fallen off or out of the system.”

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Bedford County has seen increases in workforce labor and jobs created in the county. Since 2019, they have seen over 108% increase in jobs created and 105% in workforce labor, meaning they have thrived since the pandemic.

“In July 2023 alone, we’ve had an increase of 300 new jobs and we have seen an increase of 800 more individuals in the labor force,” Bette Slayton, president and CEO of the Bedford County Development Association said.

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