Minnesota rebrands workforce career centers

One place to spend time searching for a job or positioning for a promotion is CareerForce. That's the state's recently rebranded workforce center system, with dozens of statewide locations and a new website at careerforce­mn.com.

"There's never been a better time to find opportunities and have a little bit of time to explore them," said Mike Lang, CareerForce job service director for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). "With this tight labor market and the need to retain employees, this is a great time to negotiate and find opportunities that you would often not see during a period of high unemployment."

The CareerForce website offers skill and interest assessments to help users find a job that is a good fit, Lang said. It also has information about developing skills to start a career, planning for career advancement or promotion, or changing careers.

Employees looking to advance with their current company can find occupation profiles with the skills and education necessary for those opportunities on the CareerForce website, Lang said. More incumbent workers are visiting CareerForce locations and the website for training programs designed to improve their competitiveness for promotions.

Another benefit of low unemployment: CareerForce staff members have more time to spend with customers as well as to improve services for job and career seekers, Lang said.

Todd Nelson