A new partnership brings mobile job resources to Howard County communities.
Howard County has partnered with the Howard County Library System (HCLS) to launch an innovative Work on Wheels program. The program will enhance the County’s Office of Workforce Development (OWD) range of services by bringing job-seeking resources and services, such as resume reviews, connections to jobs, and potential training, to underserved communities throughout the county.
Work on Wheels will utilize HCLS’s STEAM Machine, a mobile classroom purchased in 2022 using American Rescue and Recovery Act (ARPA) funds. The classroom, which regularly brings science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education to students, will provide OWD services and staff to promote overall economic mobility amongst county residents.
The mobile classroom will be available at the Howard County Human Services campus at Patuxent Woods Drive in Columbia on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Upcoming dates:
- October 10, 2023
- October 24, 2023
- November 14, 2023
- November 28, 2028
- December 12, 2023
The program will eventually expand to other critical areas of need throughout the county, including along the Route 1 Corridor. Work on Wheels has partnered with local shopping plazas to host its resource days. The full program schedule will be posted on OWD’s website.
Residents will not need an appointment to take advantage of this workforce development program.
In addition to Work on Wheels, residents and businesses can still access OWD services at its Columbia Workforce Center, located at 7161 Columbia Gateway Drive, or at the North Laurel Multi-Service Center at 9900 Washington Boulevard in Laurel.
Meeting Marylanders where they are
County governments are critical drivers in fostering a thriving community labor market. Howard County joins several other jurisdictions in innovating workforce development and meeting Maryland job seekers where they are. In 2017, Baltimore City launched a similar mobile job resource program. Others have beefed-up resources for nontraditional job seekers, like the formerly incarcerated and retired.
Counties have also expanded Wi-Fi access so job seekers can more efficiently apply for jobs. Montgomery County even distributed laptops to low-income residents to aid with the process.
