To help remedy this growing issue, Griffith City Library is currently taking bookings for their Job Readiness Program.

Speaking with People and Programs Team Leader, Abby Molloy, we learnt more about the program.

“Job readiness is a four-week program in which we’re hoping to give people the skills necessary to go and job seek on their own, and hopefully attain employment,” Ms Molloy said.

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“We see a big demand – when we are on the desk and we’re helping patrons of the library print out their documents – to make them more professional looking; add a bit more structure to their job applications.”

Ms Molloy said people struggle to find jobs and the program aims to help equip those people with the skills to be able to do that.

“It’s aimed at everyone in the community – whether you’re leaving school, or you’re trying to re-enter the workplace after a couple years off, or you’ve never had a job before in your life, this is definitely a program for you.

“After this month’s program, we’ll make it a regular thing to try and help out our patrons.”

The programs will cater for all skill levels and experience.

“We only recently started advertising last week and within a couple of hours the first session was fully booked,” Ms Molloy said.

“This is why we see the need to continue this program on.”

Ms Molloy said not all job applicants in Griffith are aware of how to present a resume.

“We see this every single day in the library – people struggling to make documents on their computers,” she said.

“We have a big multicultural society, so there’s also that language barrier.

“And, giving people the skills to create a professional document that can sell their own skills, then when it comes to communicating with future employers; we’re just making that bridge a bit easier for them.”

Ms Molloy said people come in to look at the newspapers for jobs, but do not realise there are more out there than just what’s in the newspaper.

Both Ms Molly and library assistant Sharmaine Delgado will be hosting the program which will cover such areas as creating a resume, creating a cover letter, interview skills, and how to search for jobs.

“I think a lot of people – not just in Griffith – need some support to do their resumes,” Ms Delgado said.

“It’s a bit of a daunting experience, and we’re just here to show a few examples, guide them along, give them a bit of help and assistance, and let them know if they’re on the right track.”

When asked why they decided to run the sessions, Ms Delgado said:

“We see a lot of people coming in to work on their resume, and we get a lot of questions,” she said.

“And, we don’t have enough time when we’re busy on the desk doing other things, so we thought if we put an actual program together for them, we would be of a lot more assistance rather than the one-off quick questions we can answer.

“We will be able to provide one-on-one help in this class.”

Classes will be held from 5.45pm to 6.45pm on June 7, 14, 21, and 28 at the Griffith City Library.

If you are interested in attending or you would like more information, please contact the library on 02 6962 8300.