A lack of jobs and easier online
access for students looking for
employment, have led to the closing
of the Student Job Placement
Center, Jeanie Nishime, vice president
of student and community advancement,
said.
The Student Job Placement
Center provided free services for
students to receive assistance with
resumes, cover letters and finding
employment.
“The Center provided one on
one help to students to improve
their interviewing skills and to
help them network with future employers,”
John Weitzel, who was
with the Center for four years said.
However in today’s world of
technology there are many websites
available for students to find
employment, such as Monster.
com, Career Builder and Craigslist.
“There are also many websites
out there for students to find assistance
with their resumes like their
local one-stop center,” Nishime
said.
A recent program review by
Arvid Spor, dean of enrollment,
Claudia Lee and other staff members
of the Job Placement Center,
showed that numbers of employment
and students using the center
dropped dramatically over the past
few years.
According to the official board
of trustee minutes of the Sept. 7
meeting, there has been an 88 percent
decrease in employment opportunities
for students.
When it comes to new employment
postings that the Center
provided, the board of trustees
minutes stated 2,432 jobs were
available in 2007, and in 2010
there were only 301 job opportunities
available.
The board of trustees minutes
also stated that the number of employers
that provided employment
for students have also decreased
from 2007’s estimate off 772 to
only 200 available listings.
“Everyone is looking for employment
right now, so it’s hard
to provide job opportunities when
they aren’t available,” Nishime
said.
As of now, students can still
find opportunities to receive assistance
with resumes and finding job
opportunities through the Writing
Center and the Student Services
Center.
There was also a problem with
student internships and that interns
were often not paid for their working,
Spor said.
“The expansion of the internship
program in the past several
years has resulted in violations of
Title 5 and college policy, and was
likely helping employers to recruit
free workers,” the board of trustee
meeting minutes said.
Instead of going to the Placement
Center, students may contact
a counselor or access the MyECC
portal to help find various career
opportunities.
“There are still opportunities
available for students, and many
already use the MyECC portal to
find employment,” Spor said.
Some former employers will
miss working at the Job Placement
Center and having the chance to
work with students face to face.
However, Nishime has hope that
the Center will one day return to
service students.
“If the economy changes,
there’s always the possibility that
the Center will be back and up and