By Tim Leeds
The Havre Job Service will be closed Thursday and Friday, Jan. 20-21, to move into new offices at 160 First Ave., Pam Harada, Havre Job Service Manager said.
The service will be open at 8 a.m. in the new location Monday, Jan. 24, she said.
The Job Service will hold an open house Feb. 22, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. to let the community see the new offices, she said. A ribbon cutting will be held at noon. The office will give demonstrations of their services and computer systems and show the new building, she said.
Harada said the current offices simply didn't have enough room. Services had to be split, with the main office at 416 First St. and the training programs and other special programs in a second office at 109 Second St., and it was still crowded, she said. Dividers split the room into a maze of mini-offices, and equipment had to be shared between departments
The new building will provide offices for all departments in one building, she said, with expanded services for both.
The new location will house resources for job applicants, Harada said. This will include references, resources and training in job interviews, resume writing and job availability. The new location will also have increased computer availability, she said, including local, state and nation-wide job listings.
There will also be an employers reference room in the new location, she said. This will be geared to businesses, including information on wage and hour laws and writing job descriptions.
Harada said she regrets having to close Thursday and Friday, but it was impossible to stay open while moving the two offices into the new location.
"In order to move, we have to pack up all of our computers and data information systems," she said. "We're sorry for the inconvenience to the public, but we have to move lock, stock and barrel."
The move is actually eight weeks ahead of schedule, Harada said. Clausen and Sons, the general contractors hired to build the new location, completed early enough to move up the planned March re-opening, she said.
Work is still planned for later in the spring, she said. The parking lot will be paved then, a new sign will be put up, and landscaping will be done on the grounds.
"We'll show off the building now," Harada said, "but in the spring we'll put on the final touches."
