Woonsocket May See Uptick From Closure Of Pawtucket Career Center

On Sept. 6, Pawtucket's netWORKri One-Stop Career Center located at 175 Main St. will close, likely sending some extra visitors to the Woonsocket netWORKri office at 219 Pond St.

The netWORKri One-Stop Career Centers offer employment services to both job seekers and employers and are managed and operated by the RI Department of Labor and Training.

“The Pawtucket netWORKri center is a valuable community resource, and the decision to close the office was very difficult," said Department of Labor and Training Director Charles J. Fogarty, "However, as a state agency, we have a fiscal responsibility to operate within our current budget and we no longer have the funding needed to continue operations at the Main Street location.”

Laura Hart, communications manager at the Department of Labor and Training, said federal stimulus funding that boosted services for the unemployed have run out, forcing the department to cut back.

The Pawtucket center was originally slated for closure in April of this year, but efforts made by Governor Chafee and Pawtucket Mayor Grebien allowed the department to continue operations though this summer.

The Department of Labor and Training is encouraging Pawtucket patrons of the center to visit the Providence, Woonsocket, West Warwick and Wakefield netWORKri locations for a full complement of job-search services.

"I would expect there would be an uptick in Woonsocket and Providence," as a result of the closing, said Hart. She said that on average, the monthly unique visitors to the locations are 1,100 for Pawtucket and about 500 for Woonsocket.

Some staff will be making a transition to the Woonsocket netWORKri office, she said, which should help compensate for any increase in visitors there.