Wave Staff and Wire Reports
WATTS — A new center to provide career development resources and a range of employment opportunities for residents opened Nov. 15.
For more than 30 years, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles has operated the Watts Los Angeles WorkSource Center, which serves more than 1,600 clients a year and has helped nearly 15,000 residents find jobs.
Officials from the Housing Authority, Mayor Karen Bass and other city officials were on hand Nov. 15 for the opening of a larger, modernized center at 2212 E. Imperial Highway to greater support the Watts’ community. The new center will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. as well as Saturdays, although Saturday hours may vary.
“We are committed to helping Angelenos connect to new career pathways and access life-changing opportunities,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “The expanded Watts Los Angeles WorkSource Center is not just a resource for the present; it is an investment in the economic future of L.A.”
The center is funded by the city’s Economic Workforce Development Department and grants. Staff will provide job readiness training and facilitate youth employment programs such as HIRE LA Youth and the county’s Youth@Work, among other services. Assistance on resumé building and career counseling also will be provided.
The 9,000-square-foot center also features a computer lab, business center, private counseling space and large training rooms.
It is located on property owned by the City Housing Authority and shared with a 100-bed Bridge Housing site run by the Salvation Army. The center will partner with the shelter and other transitional housing sites to offer easy access to training and job resources for Angelenos coming out of homelessness.
The Watts/LA WorkSource Center was started by then-Mayor Tom Bradley in 1992 to address the grave inequities in economic opportunity for residents living in underserved communities like Watts and South Los Angeles, according to Jenny Scanlin, CEO of the city Housing Authority.
L.A. City Councilman Tim McOsker, who represents the 15th District, encompassing Watts and Harbor neighborhoods, called the center a “crucial investment.”
“This center will open doors for individuals who deserve the opportunity to thrive in careers, strengthening both our local workforce and the families that make this community resilient,” McOsker said in a statement.
The expanded center will help residents impacted by job insecurity get enrolled into training and support services so they can get on a path to gaining access to employment in industries that will offer financial security and career advancement, said Carolyn Hull, general manager of the city’s Economic Workforce Development Department.
“This new facility will allow us to expand the array of services and offerings our clients deserve,” said Delfino De La Cruz, who serves on the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners.
It will serve thousands of adults and youth in and outside of the authority’s public housing and Section 8 programs to successfully upskill, cross-skill and re-skill to enter the workforce, start a business and/or climb career ladders, he added.
