Starting in early 2023, Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina will shift its Henderson County-area employment services to a community-based model that will better meet the changing needs of the local workforce.
Goodwill Career Connections staff will offer free, personalized services including resume preparation, career counseling, skills assessment, and job placement assistance at convenient locations throughout the county, such as libraries, schools, and community agencies with which Goodwill partners. In addition, Goodwill will continue to offer virtual services so that individuals can access assistance from any location. The physical Goodwill Career Connections Center in Hendersonville closed effective Nov. 30.
“We are excited to continue serving Henderson County in a way that is accessible for all,” said Lance Crawford, Goodwill’s district director of workforce development. “Local job seekers will have access to the full range of Goodwill’s employment services at a greater number of locations throughout the county, and from the convenience of their homes.”
Crawford said that this community-based model has worked well for the NextGen program for youth, which recently expanded to serve Madison and Transylvania counties. “NextGen serves young adults seeking career and educational guidance and support, and NextGen staff meet individuals at many locations across the community,” Crawford said. “Goodwill employment specialists are applying this same model to other career programs, giving job seekers more convenient options to access services.”