SUNBURY - The logistics of the much-publicized move of the Pennsylvania CareerLink Northumberland County from Shamokin to the county seat were announced Thursday.
The new CareerLink Northumberland/Snyder/Union Counties is scheduled to open at 225 Market St., in the Sunbury Municipal Building, at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 5. Its move from Shamokin will take place Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, according to a press release issued by Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corp. (CPWDC), which operates CareerLinks in a nine-county region.
The Shamokin site remains open until Tuesday. However, to limit disruption in services during the relocation, Luzerne County Community College has offered a computer lab in Room 406 of the Northumberland Career and Arts Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily Wednesday through Friday of next week to provide job search assistance. Calls will continue to be answered at the current site through June 30. All calls coming into the site after the number is disconnected will hear a message with the Sunbury phone number.
Job seekers can also access job search services online at www.pacareerlink.state.pa.us from any Internet connection. Those visiting local libraries are reminded that a drivers' license or library card may be required for Internet access.
Call the Shamokin site at 644-6570. The number at the Sunbury site, available as of July 1, is 988-7300.
CPWDC also sent an e-mail blast to more than 2,000 job seekers who have received a service at CareerLink in the last 12 months to notify them of the changes.
The CareerLink site in Selinsgrove will also consolidate in Sunbury later this year.
A grand opening at Sunbury will be scheduled at a later date.
In November, the Workforce Investment Board (WIB) voted 27-4, with one abstention, to not renew leases in Shamokin and Selinsgrove, with plans to close both offices by the end of 2011 and establish one location in the Sunbury area. CPWDC initiated the plan in addressing the loss of $1 million in federal funding. In April, Sunbury Municipal Building was chosen as the new site.
The CareerLink will occupy 15,000 square feet on the third and second floors at the Sunbury Municipal Building, with a lease cost of $6.50 per square foot. Northumberland County was charging $11.35 per square foot for the Shamokin site.
The consolidation, however, sparked controversy from local, county and state officials who said CPWDC did not explore other options or seek cheaper lease rates at the current sites. The issue even prompted state Sen. John Gordner (R-27) to convene a hearing to address the effectiveness of the workforce development programs.