EMPLOYERS AND JOB SEEKERS
Barton County
Workforce Connection
Your one stop shop for all things workforce. If you are an employer or job seeker and are needing to find out what resources are available to you, please shop our partners and their services below. Too overwhelming? That's okay! Reach out to us using our contact form and we'll put you in touch with the right person.
WORKFORCE CONNECTION
Meet Our Partners
Great Bend Economic Development has partnered with a variety of local organizations to provide incredible opportunities to connect employers and job seekers. Our goal is to provide job seekers with quality employment, locate the best candidates for open positions, and do everything we can to reduce our community's unemployment rate to zero!
Partner with Us to Find Your Dream Job
At Sunrise Staffing Services LLC, we understand how important it is to choose the right career to be successful in life. We are your career partner and we will help you find an opportunity that’s aligned with your long-term goals.
Excellent Staffing Services
Sunrise Staffing Services LLC is a full-service agency offering staffing solutions specifically for our customers. Sunrise will recruit, interview, and screen candidates per your specifications. Candidates found to possess the requisite skills, experience, and abilities to successfully perform the job will be scheduled for an interview with your company’s designated staff or placed in positions per your instructions.
“Whether you’re a job seeker or an employer, you can count on us. With 40 years of combined experience, we take great pride in our work and have built a reputation for providing unparalleled staffing services.”
— Chris Ryan, Owner
Our belief is that no one should be excluded from the opportunity to find a job. Our determination to assist in this process has made our Community Employment supports successful.
Our Services Include:
• Assistance in Making Career Choices
• Completing Job Searches
• Developing Effective Resumes and Interview Skills
• On-the-Job Coaching by Our Trained Professionals
• Creativity in Identifying and Modifying Tasks
Employment Supports
We offer jobs designed to strengthen individual work skills, resulting in significant earnings and increased potential for community employment. Most of the people working at Sunflower’s Manufacturing Plant or Recycling Operations earn enough working part-time to improve their quality of life.
Find more information HERE
“The joy of helping individuals with disabilities get employed in the community and seeing how proud they are of their accomplishment makes all the hard work worth it!”
-Cody Harris, Director of Planned Giving and Community Support
Preparing Students for Successful Futures
The JAG National Network strives to make a measurable difference in the outcomes of public education and workforce development systems at the national, state, and local levels. We will strive to increase opportunity and reduce poverty and unemployment by fostering career readiness.
JAG-K is an in-school, elective class taught by a trained JAG-K Career Specialist. This Career Specialist provides individual and group instruction to 35-45 students in the classroom using the competency-based JAG National Curriculum. The Career Specialist teaches JAG-K students employability skills, career and leadership development skills, and helps with academic remediation. Additionally, JAG-K students complete at least 10 hours of community service each year.
SERvices for You!
National Farmworkers Job Program (NFJP)
The National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) is a nationally-directed program created by Congress in response to the chronic seasonal unemployment and underemployment experienced by migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFWs).
The NFJP offers assistance that strengthens the ability of farmworkers and their families to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Since its inception with the passage of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the farmworker program has been an integral part of the national workforce strategy.
“SER Corporation gave me the support I needed to pursue my dream. Now with my device, I will be able to support my new family.”
- SER Corp Client
Connecting Jobseekers and Employers
KansasWorks is a system of partners working together to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy.
Jobseeker Services
Career planning workshops
Information
Career resource center
Veterans Employment Services
Kansas WORKReady! certificate
Job counseling
Assessment/testing
Job fairs
Skills upgrade
Jobs search and placement assistance
Work-based learning and training
Employer Services
Workforce services to attract and retain employees
Recruitment and retention strategies
Qualified employer accounts
Assessment and skills testing
Training
Kansas WORKReady! program
Mobile Center
Virtual services
Rapid response/Layoff facilitation
Customized training
Training funds
“I always appreciate the help that l get at KansasWorks to provide quality applicants with the necessary skills for us.”
- Karen Clounch, Human Resources Director
Hi-Lo Industries, Inc.
Employer Support and Education
Great Bend Economic Development leads the charge in creating workforce initiatives to sustain our current employers as well as initiatives that will help to support new employers that move to the community.
Employers and jobseekers are encouraged to reach out to GBED with questions and concerns and GBED will either pair you up with a workforce partner to help you accomplish your goals, or work with you one-on-one to create solutions and positive outcomes.
Together we will create a strong and sustainable workforce pipeline that will enable us to continue to #growgreatbend.
"There are many reasons why Fuller Industries has been in Great Bend for almost 50 years. Among them is an able workforce that love to produce high-quality products."
- Mark Chalfant, CEO Fuller Industries, LLC
Recruiting young professionals to return home to Central Kansas!
Interested in moving home to central Kansas and getting help paying off your student loans? We want you back!
Now is your chance to return to your hometown, and you could qualify for up to $10, 000 in student loan assistance through our reverse scholarship program!
Home is calling!
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Do you have outstanding student debt?
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Have you graduated college within the last 10 years?
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Do you currently live outside the Golden Belt area?
You could be eligible for our $10,000 Come Home Reverse Scholarship program!
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Great Bend High School has multiple career clusters and career pathways in place to address the career readiness of our high school students as well as address the successful entry into the workforce or higher education.
GBHS currently offers 13 career clusters:
Ag, Food, Natural Resources
Human Services
Architecture & Construction
Information Technology
Arts, Technology, Communication
Manufacturing
Finance
Marketing
Health Science
Engineering
Education & Training
Health & Bio Science
Hospitality & Tourism
GBHS currently offers 13 career pathways:
Bio-Medical
Health Science
Business Finance
Manufacturing
Construction & Design
Marketing
Digital Media
Power, Structural & Tech Systems
Early Childhood Services
Restaurant & Event Management
Engineering & Applied Mathematics
Teaching & Training
Web & Digital Communications
Central Kansas Jobs
The Great Bend Chamber of Commerce houses one of our top employment platforms, Central Kansas Jobs.
Jobseekers and employers alike can benefit from posting and searching available job options. From posting your resume to posting your newest available opening to seeking your next great employment opportunity, Central Kansas Jobs can help you accomplish your goals.
"The Central Kansas Jobs website is a valuable tool to assist businesses to recruit top local talent. It is a resource we use frequently to get the word out within the community when we have openings at Fuller Industries.
- Brenda Kaiser
Human Resources, Fuller Industries
Vocational Rehabilitation
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services are the cornerstone of our efforts to empower Kansans with disabilities to become gainfully employed and self-sufficient.
People with disabilities who become employed spend their earnings in local communities on housing, groceries, transportation... on life. They contribute as tax payers. Reliance on public assistance is reduced.
Employment of people with disabilities is good for Kansas businesses and industries. They have access to qualified employees to meet their workforce needs in a competitive marketplace.
Further, for each person employed through VR, there are about 1.85 total jobs created in the overall economy.
When people with disabilities are employed, everyone wins!
Job Coaching & Vocational Services
Rosewood's Day Vocational Services offer an array of vocational training, assistance and support services uniquely suited to each individual. Housed throughout the Rosewood grounds, these facilities include:
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Horse Ranch
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Furniture Gallery
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Winery
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Greenhouse and Gardens
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Studio Arts
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Clerical Assistants
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Industrial Kitchen
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Lawn Care and Cleaning Crews
Ticket to Work Program
Social Security's Ticket to Work program supports career development for Social Security disability beneficiaries age 18 through 64 who want to work. The Ticket program is free and voluntary. The Ticket program helps people with disabilities progress toward financial independence.
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Barton Community College is an instrumental partner in providing workforce-related education and technical training to our area and beyond. With Barton's multitude of training opportunites, there is always an avenue for professional growth right here in Barton County.
Barton Community College also partners with many area employers to seek direction and guidance for their technical training certifications, making their programs a perfect lead-in to the employment path you seek!
"I'm thankful for the natural gas program and thankful I chose Barton. I would say there is a weird misunderstanding that tech schools are for some reason less than a college degree, and that’s just not the case. It’s definitely a good route to pick"
- Sergio Montes, graduate of Barton Community College's Natural Gas Transmission and Distribution program
Honoring human potential through service, advocacy, and invitation, in the spirit of the Gospel.
Life-Skills Classes
Often times we miss the opportunity to learn important life skills that will help us to succeed in life. For this reason, Catholic Charities offers several life-skills classes to fill in the gaps for both English and non-English-speaking individuals. Life skills are an integral piece to seeing success in the workplace.
Counseling Services
Catholic Charities offers support and guidance to overcome mental and behavioral health issues through their counseling services.
Find your path to educational success at CKEOC
Are you an adult, and or military-connected connected, who has thought about returning to college or perhaps enrolling in college or vocational training for the first time? Are you at a loss about where to go or how to begin?
The Central Kansas Educational Opportunity Center (CKEOC) has been developed to respond to the increasing educational needs of adults. CKEOC is allowed to serve those under the age of 19 due to services of a Talent Search Program not being available within the CKEOC target area.
CKEOC staff can provide assistance in the areas of:
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Training and education choices
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Financial aid
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Admission
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Career planning
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Financial literacy
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WORKFORCE RESOURCES
Internships, Apprenticeships, Job Shadows, and More!
Thanks to our amazing partners, Great Bend Economic Development is excited to connect job-seekers with opportunities for internships, externships, apprenticeships, job shadows, and more. See information about these programs below, and contact us when you're ready to get started!
Coming Soon
Access to guidelines to make it easy for your company to participate in any, or all, of these programs!
Post your available Internships, externships, Apprenticeships or job shadows or
to see applications of those looking to participate in any, or all, of these programs.
Workforce Stats
Barton County historically keeps a fairly low unemployment rate. However, our workforce is supplemented with labor pools from surrounding areas. Great Bend Economic Development, along with our workforce partners, are always actively recruiting a skilled labor force to the area through our job recruitment sites Central Kansas Jobs and KansasWorks.
Understanding Unemployment: Where do the numbers come from?
Estimates for the unemployment rate are based on data for the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and older. Individuals who are employed or unemployed are considered part of the labor force. If someone does not meet the definition for employment or unemployment, they are not in the labor force. This would include students who aren’t looking for work as well as retirees. The unemployment rate is calculated as the number of unemployed divided by the labor force, so individuals not in the labor force are also excluded from unemployment rate estimates. The following chart shows how these different categories add up to the total civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over. It also provides the definition for each category:
Excludes people <16 years, institutionalized, and active duty military.
Sum of employed and unemployed.
Examples:
• Retirees not working
• Students not working
• Disabled persons who cannot work
• Persons not working and discouraged from seeking work
• Volunteers working for religious/charitable organizations• Worked at all as a paid employee
• Worked 15 hours or more as an unpaid worker in a family business
• Had a job or business from which they were temporarily absent
• Self employed• Did not meet criteria for employed
• Made specific efforts to find employment during 4 week period ending in the reference week
• Waiting to be recalled to a job they are temporarily laid off from
• Were available for work
Related Resources
Great Things are
Just Around the Bend!
Explore more resources from Great Bend Economic Development.
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