Town Holds Job Fair at Former Hotel Site

Above, around noon on Tuesday, the Job Fair had quieted considerably; the only people in evidence being two members of the National Guard, above, but scrubbed from the image, by Observer, due to a contractual commitment between the Town and the Guard to not allow images of Guard personnel to be shown.

The Town of Franklin sponsored a Job Fair tailored to the emerging migrant population in town on Tuesday from 9-1. . The event, held at the former Best Western on Upper Union Stret,  aimed to  connect area employers  to a large pool of fully authorized job seekers with diverse skills, backgrounds, and language abilities.

Cathleen Liberty, Franklin Health Director, said that the health department put on the job fair for the occupants "when we found out that approximately 80 occupants have work authorizations . "

"A construction company came in the morning and then MassHire came in the afternoon. I don't know how many applicants there were or who was hired -- it went really well," said Liberty.

MassHire is the brand name for the Massachusetts Workforce System. It has Career Centers located around the state as well as online job listing. Most services are provided free-of-charge.

MassHire Career Centers have training information. According to the state website, if an individual needs new skills in order to become re-employed, they may be approved to attend training while receiving unemployment insurance benefits.  The Training Opportunities Program allows the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) to waive the "active worksearch" requirement for claimants who meet certain eligibility requirements. This means that they can continue to receive unemployment insurance benefits while in agency-approved training.  Under certain circumstances, claimants may be eligible for up to an additional 26 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits while attending approved training.