The Nebraska Workforce Development – Department of Labor awarded the University of Nebraska at Kearney Human Resource Department with a “Celebration of Labor” Industry Tour award on Oct. 10.
The award comes as part of the state’s annual Celebration of Labor, which dates back to 1991.
“The UNK Human Resource Department has been a valuable asset in the area of workforce development in Nebraska,” Labor Commissioner Fernando Lecuona III said. “They have provided a great deal to the Kearney community and the state of Nebraska.”
The nomination was submitted by Stan Zimbelman, Employment Services Manager for the Nebraska Department of Labor in Kearney, and stated, “The University of Nebraska at Kearney Resource Department provides payroll, benefit and other services to the more than 1,600 faculty, staff and student employees at the University. They work closely with the Affirmative Action Department to recruit faculty and staff. Part of this effort has included the Internet to reach a larger pool of candidates. This has included use of the UNK web site to post jobs and the use of e-mail to internal employees looking to make a career advancement. The University also works with Nebraska Workforce Development to fill job openings. The UNK web site is updated weekly and lists details and requirements for each job. Future plans include development of an on-line application, a web page in the electronic version of the Chronicle of Higher education as well as an electronic process to provide applicant information to the supervisors of each search committee doing the interviewing and hiring. The Human Resource Department of the University of Nebraska at Kearney is a tremendous asset to workforce development in Nebraska.”
The 11th Annual “Celebration of Labor” Industry Tour is recognizing roughly 50 employers from more than 40 communities across the state. The tour is making stops in 19 different Nebraska cities.
The 2001 tour them is “e-government.” It will celebrate the technological advances that are helping improve services to Nebraska employers and workers.
“This year’s theme is particularly important because of the many changes we see taking place in workforce development,” Lecuona said. “The Internet has caused us to reexamine our government services and to do a better job of taking bureaucracy out of the process. In short, the Internet is revolutionizing the way we do business.”
Lecuona said the Nebraska Workforce Development – Department of Labor and other state agencies are using the Internet to bring government closer to the people.
“We are offering employers unemployment insurance accounts on line,” Lecuona said. “We are offering job seekers the opportunity to search for jobs on line. We are also offering important on-line labor market information to assist employers and job seekers. These are just a few of the ways we are reaching out through the Internet.”
As part of this year’s industry tour, a commemorative poster has been developed that shows some of the ways government is reaching out to Nebraskans on line.
