Agency Takes Help To Job Seekers

DADE CITY - Karen Mateson recently approached the Career Central vehicle parked at Pasco-Hernando Community College with cautious curiosity.

She glanced through the back door of the mobile job center and, a few minutes later, was looking for jobs in the medical field with the help of Dave Hamilton, the mobile unit's driver and operator.

Mateson, an artist at heart, is enrolled at PHCC's Dade City campus working toward a degree in radiology. She'd like to teach art, but will settle for a job doing sonograms.

"It's not my passion," Mateson said, somewhat sheepishly, of the medical field.

Hamilton helps dozens of people like Mateson every week as he pilots Career Central's mobile unit around the remote corners of Pasco and Hernando counties.

"It's not about finding a career right now," Hamilton said. "It's about finding a job."

Florida's slumping economy has sent a steady stream of job seekers through the doors of Career Central, the job assistance branch of the nonprofit Jobs and Education Partnership Regional Board.

The bursting housing bubble cost Pasco more than 1,000 jobs between the summer of 2007 and the same period a year before - a 1 percent decline, according to the most recent federal labor figures.

A Quick Decline

The decline put Pasco County firmly in the middle of Florida's 22 largest counties, with half seeing smaller declines or job-market growth and the rest - most of them in the southwest corner of the state - sharper declines in their job markets.

Pasco, which ranked first in job growth among the nation's 329 largest counties in early 2005, now ranks near the bottom.

The bulk of the job losses happened in the construction industry as builders dramatically curtailed projects in response to slumping demand. After peaking in 2006, Pasco's job market had fallen back to 2005 levels, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Many of those unemployed construction workers are finding Hamilton's roaming job center. Those hoping to get new construction work are frequently disappointed, Hamilton said.

"Unfortunately, I don't have construction jobs to pick from," he said.

Most job seekers visiting Career Central stop at one of its three storefront locations, in New Port Richey, Spring Hill and Zephyrhills. Those living beyond a quick drive from the sites turn to Hamilton's mobile unit.

Serving The Underserved

The boxy vehicle is the size and shape of a bookmobile or bread truck. Inside, it offers half a dozen computers stashed in narrow cubicles hugging a central aisle. A diesel generator provides power and air conditioning; a rooftop satellite link puts the Internet at users' fingertips.

The vehicle is Hamilton's baby and has been from the beginning, said Lee Ellzley, Hamilton's boss at JEP's Brooksville headquarters.

"Dave has diligently seen through the procurement of that vehicle and putting it on the road," Ellzley said, to "serve the underserved areas of the community."

On a rotating basis, Hamilton visits remote communities such as Ridge Manor and Lacoochee, as well as more central locations such as Land O' Lakes and downtown Brooksville. Visits come about two weeks apart for each location.

The trail of visitors has been strong in Brooksville and Ridge Manor, but always is more hit-or-miss in Pasco in spite of fliers and other advertising.

It was during one of those visits to Land O' Lakes that Russ Wilson stopped by the mobile job center looking for work.

Wilson, 32, was a truck driver until the cost of fuel forced him to give that up. Now he lives with his wife and two children at his mother-in-law's house just north of Land O' Lakes High School. He works odd jobs and his wife, Amy, cleans houses to make ends meet.

"Nobody's hiring," Wilson said. "I couldn't even get a job as a dishwasher."

With Hamilton's help, Wilson landed interviews with the Department of Transportation and with Zephyr Water Co.

The mobile unit's success in the 18 months it has been on the road has persuaded Ellzley and Hamilton it's time to upgrade to a larger vehicle. They plan to replace the current vehicle with one the size of an RV that will have more room for clients and space for meetings.