Workforce Solutions Alamo is urging impacted employees to consider attending one of their job fairs and calling their help line at 210-224-4357.
SAN ANTONIO — The City of San Antonio and Workforce Solutions Alamo have united in an effort to help laid off federal government employees seek new employment.
“When there’s a crisis that hits, whether it’s a natural disaster, a pandemic or in this case, political decisions that are costing tens of thousands of jobs all across our country and we know thousands likely here in San Antonio as a result, this community’s going to rally, we’re going to leverage our resources,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg.
Federal government employees makeup only a fraction (35,000 workers) of the 1.2 million civilian workforce in the San Antonio and New Braunfels metropolitan statistical area (MSA).
It’s unknown how many of these workers have already been laid off or could end up losing their jobs down the line. Adrian Lopez, CEO of Workforce Solutions Alamo, said they’ve yet to receive WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notices from the federal government regarding impending layoffs.
Workforce Solutions Alamo is collaborating with Joint Base San Antonio and forming a task force that could establish a pipeline of talent for in-demand industries.
Lopez urges affected federal workers to attend one of their many job fairs and all the helpline for assistance.
“We have 16 career centers, we have resources available for people to take advantage for people to hopefully land on their feet,” Lopez said. “Employers that want to work closely with us we can actually go to their location to be able to triage and assist people right on site as part of the Workforce One Mobile Unit.”
There remains big demand to fill vacancies within the health care industry, among others. Mike Ramsey, the head of San Antonio’s Ready to Work program, stressed of the over 500 pledged employers, dozens have already expressed interest in hiring former federal government employees.
The taxpayer funded initiative connects eligible candidates to a variety of education and training resources involving colleges, non-profits and other local entities with the goal of securing high-paying jobs after completion of the program.
“We want to make sure that they’re aware that the San Antonio workforce ecosystem is ready to wrap their arms around them,” Ramsey said.
City council members Manny Pelaez and Adriana Rocha-Garcia, both of whom are running for mayor, proposed the creation of the Re-employment Assistance for Federal Talent (RAFT) program.
RAFT would lead to recruiting the “most qualified federal workers” and expediting their application and onboarding process.
One of the priorities would be to fill vacant City of San Antonio positions across different departments with these laid off federal government employees.
Workforce Solutions Alamo is hosting a hiring event with federal employees in mind at the San Antonio Food Bank on April 17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Impacted workers can also call Workforce Solutions Alamo’s help line for additional support at 210-224-4357.