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AN INTERVIEW WITH
Robin Chester

  The Georgia Employer Committee would like to share with its viewers the EMR's who are vital to the success of the Local Committees throughout the State. This month we meet and talk with EMR Robin Chester of the Albany Career Center.

 

 

Tell us your name, your Career Center and how long you’ve been an EMR?

RC: - My name is Robin Chester. I work at the Albany Career Center. Our committee is the Albany Area Employer Committee.

 

Do you have any special talents, hobbies, or interest you’d like to share

RC: - I enjoy gardening, traveling, attending fairs and festivals, going to the beach, hanging out with friends.

 

What led you to your position as an EMR, and why?

RC: - I began my career w/DOL as an Employment Interviewer and grew to become acquainted with area employers. Back then, interviewers had a lot of interaction with employers. I love being a resource for all customers, but feel I have a special connection to the employers. I like being able to assist them with recruitment or providing labor market information, or coordinating a hiring event. .

 

What do you feel is unique about the area in which you work?

RC: - Albany is the hub of southwest Georgia and is equipped with five colleges/universities: Albany State University, Darton College, Albany Technical College, and satellite campuses for LaGrange College, and Troy State Universities. With the economy the way it is, education and retraining is on the rise. It’s good to know we already have these institutions of higher learning here and equipped to assist the public.

 

How active is your Employer Committee? What do you feel are its best features, and biggest challenges?

RC: While our attendance fluctuates, we have seen our committee grow each month. Our constant mission is to educate the employer community with legislative news that may impact them and by providing seminars on topics that provides information for them. Also, our committee is especially interested in providing valuable information to our youth by way of a Saturday Academy, or mini-workshops. These are our workforce of tomorrow and the sooner they learn job-readiness skills, the better. We have identified the need to educate our youth in developing good work habits as well as demanding skills.

 

Has your Employer Committee received any awards or special recognition?

RC: - The Albany Area Employer Committee has won numerous awards in past years prior to my being involved.

 

What community activities do you participate in as an EMR?

RC: - Currently, I am involved with the Lee County Family Connections, Executive Board, and Youth Committee, Lee County Chamber Ambassador, Lee County High School Business Advisory Committee, Dougherty County Family Connections, Calhoun County Family Connections, Dougherty High School Business Advisory Committee.

 

What do you enjoy most about your job?

RC: - I enjoy being a “go-to” person and assisting an employer with a recruiting need, whether it means holding a hiring event for them, or just finding them the right employee. Special recruitments, job fairs, etc. takes planning and organization and I seem to work well with that. Or, sometimes working one-on-one with an employer and posting a job order and they see it works! It’s satisfying to know you just surprised someone who thought we were “just the unemployment office” and they received excellent employment service from our agency. I also like being involved with different committees that make decisions on their communities. I get to find out who their “go-to” person is!

 

In the future what would you most like to accomplish as an EMR?

RC: I’d like to think I had an impact on the upcoming workforce through education-especially in the area of work ethics. We are experiencing generational differences in our workplace, but there are still some ethics that remain the same and I am afraid a lot of our youth are unaware of a basic code of conduct in the workplace. For employers, I want them to know me and how I can assist them in any way with their employment needs, and their labor concerns, and to continue to surprise them with all the services and information we have to offer.

What future trends do you see in employment needs for your area?

RC: - Definitely a more educated work force. With unemployment at an all-time high, and many businesses closing, it’s been a bittersweet situation. While it is unfortunate for so many people to lose their jobs, many of them are returning to school to learn a new skill; that’s always a positive! Hopefully, this means the Albany community will be ready for that next employer who is looking at this area.

 

Albany Staff