Provides employment and training support to job seekers and businesses. Some eligibility requirements may apply.

-  Assists with career assessments, job search, applications, resume/cover letters, job readiness, and interviewing preparation. Assists business with recruitment, hosting employee training, labor market information, and finding candidates for openings. 

-  Economic Security for All (EcSA) serves families by building a partnership around the four pillars of support: transportation, healthcare, childcare, and employment. 

-  Unemployment Information: Provide computer and telephone access to apply for Unemployment Insurance benefits. Customers may call the UI hotline at (800)318.6022 or log into eServices at esd.wa.gov/unemployment. (Online application, weekly filing, and submission of documents is encouraged to expedite the process.)

Employment & Training Services offered at WorkSource Columbia Basin

Provides employment and training support to job seekers and businesses, Economic Security for All (EcSA), and unemployment information.

Programs that maintain listings of available employment opportunities and assign a staff member to help people who are searching for a position to choose and obtain the most suitable option.

Job Search/Placement

One-stop centers that provide an array of employment and training services in a convenient, easily accessible location. Services may include job counseling, testing and assessment; resume preparation assistance, interview training and other prejob guidance services; job matching and referral; unemployment insurance and job registration; labor market and career information; information on financial aid for education and training; and referral for job training, transportation, child care, personal and financial counseling, health care and other human services resources in the community.

Comprehensive Job Assistance Centers

Programs that maintain information about community resources that are appropriate for a specific target group or human services sector (for example, youth programs or addiction services) and which link individuals who are in need of specialized services with appropriate resources and/or which provide information about community agencies and organizations that offer specialized services.

Specialized Information and Referral

Programs that provide training that is designed to enable employees to perform a job that their previous training has not equipped them for or to adapt to changes in the workplace. Retraining may be needed when new methods or equipment are introduced or when jobs for which employees have trained are phased out. It may also be provided by employers or governments for employees who have been laid off and are no longer able to find employment using the skills they already possess. The need for retraining may arise because of a decline in a particular industry sector or because of rapid technological change.

Job Retraining

Programs that seek out and create job opportunities in various fields for individuals with special needs, limitations and abilities. Activities may include development of jobs that can be done in a home setting; development of markets for crafts and other items produced in the home; and identification of other work projects of benefit to the community that individuals with special needs, limitations and abilities are uniquely qualified to pursue.

Special Needs Job Development

Programs that provide instruction for individuals of all ages who want to learn about or perfect their skills in using computers, computer-related hardware and specific home and business applications including word processing, spreadsheet development, presentation development, database management, electronic publishing and image processing. Included are both introductory classes for people unfamiliar with computers and the Internet and more advanced courses, as well as programs that provide instruction in the use of related technology such as smartphones and social media. Instruction may focus on publishing tools such as blogs, video logs (vlogs), photo sharing, podcasting or wikis.

Computer Literacy Training Programs

Programs that provide information and guidance for people who need to evaluate their aptitude, abilities and interests in order to choose a vocation or career and select the type of training that will enable them to obtain and progress in positions in the public or private sector that are productive and fulfilling.

Career Counseling

Programs that identify public or private sector employers that are willing to take on trainees who learn to perform the tasks that are associated with their position at the work site using the actual tools, equipment, documents and materials that they will use when fully trained. OJT trainees work under the supervision of skilled employees who serve as instructors following a training plan established by the employee, the employer and an external agency, if matching wages are being paid by that agency; and are engaged in productive work and earn a wage as they are trained. Employers may be offered cash training reimbursements (subsidized wages) or other incentives to hire difficult-to-employ individuals and are generally expected to hire the trainees upon successful completion of the training.

On the Job Training

One-stop centers that provide information about business registration and incorporation; one-on-one business counseling; customized training; information about enterprise and empowerment zones for tax credits; access to government contracts; access to credit and financing resources; minority business development assistance; small business loan information; loan form preparation assistance; technical assistance on market research, marketing plans and business plans; and other support services for business owners and employers.

Business Assistance Centers

Organizations that are dedicated to protecting and improving the quality and affordability of health and long term care for all individuals and advocating for changes in the health care system that will achieve these goals; or which advocate more broadly for legislation and other measures such as bans on smoking that have a positive impact on public health. Specific issues may include extending the reach of childhood immunization programs, expanding services for people with specific disabilities or health conditions, funding medical research, supporting or opposing stem cell research, establishing the liability of managed health care organizations and nursing facilities for the consequences of their decisions, providing a prescription drug benefit for the elderly, passing a powerful patient's bill of rights, advocating for universal health care or taking a position on the merits of specific medical procedures or forms of treatment.

Health Related Advocacy Groups

Programs that help people navigate through the maze of doctors' offices, clinics, hospitals, outpatient centers, insurance and payment systems, patient-support organizations and other components of the health care system with the objective of supporting timely delivery of quality care and ensuring that patients, survivors and families are satisfied with their encounters with the health care system. Personal health care advocates are trained health care workers, often nurses, or volunteers familiar with the health care system who work independently of any health care institution. They help patients identify specialists, coordinate appointments with providers to assure timely delivery of diagnostic and treatment services, provide "cheat sheets" of questions, and lay out the choices patients have in plain English. They may also ensure that appropriate medical records are available at scheduled appointments, accompany patients to medical appointments, arrange language translation or interpretation services, facilitate financial support and help with paperwork, negotiate insurance claims, arrange transportation and/or child/elder care, provide access to clinical trials and facilitate linkages to follow-up services.  Some programs contract with employers to serve as personal advocates for employees who are ill. Others work exclusively with individuals who have specific illnesses, e.g., cancer.

Personal Health Care Advocate Services

Programs that maintain lists of current employment opportunities submitted by employers and which are available for review by people who are searching for a position. Included are programs that post job notices on bulletin boards which are available to the public as well as those that maintain computerized or other listings.

Job Banks

Programs that provide transportation, generally by automobile or van, for people who need to go to a job interview, need a reliable way to get to and from work in a timely manner, participate in work-related training sessions or engage in other similar activities, and have no other options. Some programs may work with designated populations such as low-wage earners, older workers, people with disabilities, veterans or homeless families; and other eligibility criteria may apply.

Employment Related Transportation

Programs that provide door-to-door (or curb-to-curb) transportation for purposes of shopping, medical or welfare appointments, accessing services, recreational or social events, trips to and from the individual's place of employment, or other similar activities for very low-income people who otherwise would have no means of transportation.

Indigent Transportation

Programs that make computers, printers and other electronic equipment available for public use, primarily for word processing, spread sheets and other document development applications. Public access computers can be found in libraries, schools, government buildings, science labs and research centers. Some companies such as Mail Boxes Etc. provide computers the public can use for an hourly fee.

Public Access Computers/Tools

Programs that provide instruction for people who need to acquire the basic "soft skills" and tools that are required to successfully apply for and secure employment, and retain a position once they have been hired. These programs provide information and guidance regarding preparing a resume, writing job application letters, completing job application questionnaires, responding to job ads and taking employment tests; offer tips regarding appropriate dress, personal appearance and interview techniques; and address other similar topics.

Prejob Guidance

Programs that provide assistance for people who are having difficulty understanding and/or obtaining the full benefits to which they are entitled by law through their state Unemployment Insurance program. The programs may help people understand the eligibility criteria for unemployment insurance benefits, the benefits provided by the program, and the rights of beneficiaries; provide consultation and advice; help them complete unemployment application forms; negotiate on their behalf with unemployment insurance benefits staff; prepare a written appeal; and/or represent them in administrative hearings or judicial litigation. Included are organizations that offer a range of advocacy services as well as legal aid programs which offer more formalized legal assistance.