employment

PCC Cascade Campus

The Cascade Campus is the anchor of a neighborhood in the midst of transformation. Located in the middle of the most culturally diverse section of Portland, Cascade offers a range of programs as varied as the community surrounding it.

Cascade broadened its workforce development offerings recently with the successful transition of the Evening Trades Apprenticeship Preparation program (ETAP) to the campus. ETAP, along with the Margaret Carter Skill Center and the Trades & Industry program, comprise the comprehensive array of workforce training options at Cascade. Students can prepare for skilled apprenticeships, sharpen the skills they need for their current jobs, or train for a change of careers. ETAP and Cascade’s Pre-Trades courses are both certified by the State of Oregon as direct entry pre-apprenticeship programs, making their graduates automatically qualified to apply for apprenticeships in a range of skilled trades.

Cascade’s mainstream college programs, too, offer entry into many different sectors of industry. The campus is home to a number of unique programs offered nowhere else in the PCC system, such as Medical Laboratory Technology, Professional Music, Paralegal, and Emergency Services – Fire Science, Paramedic, Emergency Medical Technician, 9-1-1 Telecommunicator, and Emergency Management (the only such degree program in Oregon).

Swan Island Training Center

In May 2008, Vigor Industrial and PCC joined forces to open the Swan Island Training Center to help meet demand for workers. Skilled welders are a key labor component for manufacturing companies and, locally, there is a shortage of well-trained workers in this vital trade. Companies on the east side of the Willamette River, such as U.S. Barge, Vigor Industrial, Service Steel and Columbia Wire & Iron, have the potential to expand their workforce by taking advantage of the training opportunities that the Swan Island Training Center provides.

For more information about this vital program and how to apply, call 503-247-1724.

Workforce Network

Workforce Network is a division of Portland Community College. WORKFORCE NETWORK is an organization committed to finding solutions to optimize workforce performance. Serving the needs of Portland's North and Northeast regions, we specialize in helping businesses fulfill their human resource needs and jobseekers in their career development.

Onsite services that we have are:

• Career Center: it is equipped with 25 computers, copy machine, and fax machine to assist our community member to search for jobs, e-mail the potential employers, and develop resumes and cover letters. All these services are at no cost to our valued community members.
• 3 Computer Labs: they are equipped with up-to-date software and technology. In these labs we run computer classes, and the business community can have access to them as well.
• Every Friday we host "Employment Market Place" where employers get to present their businesses to a large audience of potential employees.
• Auditorium: it can hold up to 150 people. It is equipped with up-to-date technology for presentations.

Also, every year we hold a Job Fair and host a minimum of 50 employers and hundreds of job seekers. For further information, please visit our web site.

Express Employment Professionals

The St. Johns office of Express Employment Professionals is a staffing service that helps individuals in North and Northeast Portland find quality employment through coaching and development of their resume, interview techniques, and job search. Express employs people to work short-term and long-term assignments in administrative, accounting and commercial industries.

Express is a dynamic organization with over 600 franchise offices worldwide. Each office is individually owned, an arrangement that promotes a sense of pride in each team’s work to help people find the right jobs and companies to find the right people. Suzanne Smith, owner of the St. Johns office since 2003, has been in the industry and the community for over 14 yrs.