MassHire Central Career Center serves as a bridge between job seekers and employers, which has become increasingly relevant as people start to ease back into the force after months of hiatus due to the pandemic, according to CEO Jeffery Turgeon.

Turgeon, who has been in his position with MassHire Central Region Workforce for 11 years, said that there have been a lot of hiring trends over the years that he’s been with MassHire. He’s worked through a recession, a growth period after it, and now a pandemic.

“We’ve seen a lot of changes in that decade plus,” Turgeon said. “But it’s still exciting to be part of an organization that’s committed to helping others.”

COVID-19 has created a need for virtual changes. Turgeon called it a “job seeker’s market,” especially as organizations are reopening and more people are feeling safer with the accessibility to vaccinations.

“It seems like more and more people are getting back,” Turgeon said. “I think that’s part to do with child care and schools reopening. Part of it may be tied to the economic benefits going away as well.”

Turgeon said that there is an uptick in the number of people looking for jobs. However, the pandemic still made for a unique situation — different from the recession years ago — due to people being on hiatus and employers not knowing what the duration or impact of the pandemic would be. Turgeon said that the organization is trying to follow the trends and see which will stick, such as potential virtual work, and which may go back to how it was before the pandemic.

“It was such an unique set of circumstances and confluence of issues that came about,” Turgeon said. “It’s totally unique.”

When the pandemic first hit, Turgeon said that a lot of people were looking for more short term solutions, including unemployment resources. After, there was a ramp up on hiring. And now, there is an increase in people looking for jobs.

Many people are looking at jobs outside of where they had previously worked, according to Turgeon. He said that someone who was in the food industry may be looking at retail now, or vica versa. The center helps these people look at their next steps, though, and figure out how to get there.

Turgeon said that one of the center’s customers had an IT job. They were laid off, but MassHire was able to help them take some refresher training courses. They went on to land a great job, Turgeon said, making over $100,000. 

“When you’re able to help people take the next steps in their career or have access to training or look for the next job, it’s really a big deal,” Turgeon said. “When you hear the success stories, it does feel great that you are able to have that impact.”

Turgeon mentioned a working mom who the center helped to get medical assistance training. Now she has a couple different job offers on the table.

“You hear back from some of these great stories, and it makes you feel like you are having an impact,” Turgeon said. “Personally, that feels rewarding. It feels like you’re a resource that others can turn to. It feels good to be that resource.”

MassHire Central Region Workforce, which has physical locations in both Worcester and Southbridge, provides training and resources for both job seekers and employers. For potential employees, MassHire provides access to job leads, career planning and training tools, resume services, personal computers for job searches, and career prep workshops. For employers, MassHire can assist in recruiting and hosting job fairs.

“We try to serve both sides of the equation,” Turgeon said. “We’re having an impact in people’s lives.”

MassHire Central Career Center partners with the City of Worcester Division of Workforce Development as well as the Massachusetts Department of Career Services. With over 30 Centers statewide, the one-stop shops are nationally developed and funded by the United States Department of Labor.

For more information, visit masshirecentralcc.com.