This blog post is part of a series by our Workforce Development team.
We’re all seeing the same grim statistics: tens of millions newly unemployed, millions of just-laid-off workers applying for benefits each week. And then there are the untold millions who’d been looking for work when the pandemic hit. The people that the Workforce Development team at St. Francis House support fall into all of these categories. And we want everyone to know that we are still busy supporting our guests as they navigate the rough waters in this difficult time. We’re helping them find their way through the unemployment system, learn what other benefit programs might be available to them, and even find new jobs.
Yes! Companies are hiring!
There are many different fields where organizations are actively looking for new hires at this critical time. Organizations providing essential services are, in fact, eager to hire those able to work on the front lines in supporting the public. In Massachusetts, the list of essential services defined by Governor Baker include:
Healthcare, public health, human services – e.g. medical caregivers, hospital personnel
Law enforcement, public safety, first responders – e.g. Police, fire, EMT’s, 911 services
Food and agriculture – e.g. Grocery store workers, pharmacy workers, restaurant carry-out
Energy – e.g. utility company workers, petroleum workers
Water and wastewater – e.g. operational staff at water authorities
Transportation & logistics – e.g. truck drivers, maintenance technicians, postal workers
Public works – e.g. workers who support the maintenance of dams and roads, plumbers, electricians
Communications and Information Technology -e.g. IT workers supporting command centers
Other community based-essential functions and government operations – e.g. security staff, hotel workers, convenience stores, laundromats
Critical manufacturing – e.g. Workers needed in the medical or food chains and other critical manufacturing arenas
Hazardous materials -e.g. workers at nuclear facilities
Financial services – e.g. workers in banks
Chemical -e.g. workers supporting safe transport of chemicals
Defense industrial base – e.g. workers who support services in the interest of national security and/or under contract to the Department of Defense
You can see the full list here: https://www.mass.gov/doc/covid-19-essential-services/download
It’s clear from this list that a great many fields are still recruiting to keep Massachusetts up and running. You can utilize the St. Francis House Workforce Development Department to help you research, identify and apply to jobs in these industries.
We’re a MassHire Access Point
These partial listings were pulled from the MassHire downtown Boston website, which you can access here: https://masshiredowntownboston.org/hiringduringcovid-19/
As a MassHire Access Point, the St Francis House Workforce Development team can connect you to any roles you see on a MassHire website or any other job website. We can also give you personal assistance through email, phone or video – helping you with editing your resume, cover letter writing and phone/online interviewing techniques. In addition, we can guide you to relevant virtual workshops and articles that can give you an extra edge when it comes to letting your application stand out from the crowd!
As we mentioned in our post last week: through email, phone and video, we’re continuing to provide individualized services virtually. We look forward to meeting you if we haven’t already. For guests not already assigned to a staff member but in need of assistance, there are a few ways to contact our team:
- Call our Front Desk: Call (617)-654-1257 and leave a message with your name and contact information and a team member will reach out to you that same day.
- Send an Email: wfdinfo@stfrancishouse.org
For more information:
