Developing a Quality Workforce!
October 2019
Vol III, Issue 4
2019 Fall Job Fair
On October 24 th the Workforce Development Board of Madera County and the City of Madera Parks and Community Services partnered to host the 2019 Madera County Fall Job Fair.
The event was held at the Pan-American Community Center and drew hundreds of job seekers. Thirty-eight employers participated; representing a range of business sectors, including representatives from the retail and hospitality, manufacturing and medical employers such as Sealed Air, Nutra Blend, Camarena Health, Valley Children Healthcare Diamond Communications, Tenaya Lodge, Deerpoint Group and many more. Partner agencies from the Madera County Workforce Assistance Center such Department of Social Services, Central Valley Opportunity Center, State Center Community College District and State Center Adult Education Consortium supported the event and provided valuable information to attendees. Our next job fair will be on April 2, 2020 at the Madera District Fairgrounds.

WDB would like to express gratitude to the following local businesses for their kind donations to support the event:
  • Starbucks
  • Walmart
  • Savemart
  • Lowes
  • Sam’s Club
  • Pak N' Save. 
LIVE WEBINAR: Wage and Labor Law for California Employers

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019
8:00 AM - 1:00 PM (PT)

Presented by SHLC Attorneys Brett Sutton and Jared Hague

Topics will include:
  • Employee Classifications and Exemptions
  • Paying Wages and Overtime
  • Meal and Rest Period Rules
  • Recordkeeping Requirements
  • Developing Issues in Wage and Hour Law
  • Wage and Hour Compliance Tips
  • Arbitration Agreements/Class Action Waivers
HRCI/SHRM/APA credit will be availab le.
Madera County Unemployment Rate
The unemployment rate in the Madera County was 5.0 percent in September 2019, down from a revised 6.4 percent in August 2019, and below the year-ago estimate of 5.3 percent. This compares with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 3.5 percent for California and 3.3 percent for the nation during the same period.  
Workforce Media
This episode features an interview with Daniel Patterson, Consultant at ProPath, Inc., as he discusses the work he is doing with the workforce system in Madera County and how that work supports systemic change in the one-stop environment. He also reveals why the work of a one-stop operator is an essential role in the workforce development system.
The Employer vs. New Grad Disconnect 
This autumn across the U.S., more than 2 million young men and women packed up their laptops and mattress toppers and headed to college as freshmen, most of them pursuing a promise they’ve heard practically since infancy—that a four-year university degree will win them well-paid jobs in respectable professions doing what fulfills their passion.
What they may not know is that there is a growing disconnect between what their professors will teach them and what their first time employers will expect them to do.