Where Can You Find Good Help Around Here? Ask the Chamber

The Brooklyn Gazette - May 23, 2012

It seems pretty straightforward. You need a job, I need an employee – it’s a match made in heaven!

If it were only that simple. As any job seeker and employer can tell you, finding the right person for the job, or a job itself is often a daunting mission. That’s why Thursday, May 17th’s announcement of the re-launch of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s Good Help Program was such welcome news to the borough’s work force.

The program’s mission is to help Brooklyn businesses find, hire and retain qualified workers by offering them a suite of no cost services including access to their broad database of potential employees. From its launch in 1998 until its suspension in 2010, more than 900 businesses worked with the Chamber accessing tax credits, consulting on HR issues and staffing their companies. Nearly 1,500 placements were made, and an estimated 10,000 jobseekers were screened for jobs. Brooklyn residents found jobs and businesses saved valuable time and resources in the search for qualified candidates.

The program’s mission is to help Brooklyn businesses find, hire and retain qualified workers by offering them a suite of no cost services including access to their broad database of potential employees. From its launch in 1998 until its suspension in 2010, more than 900 businesses worked with the Chamber accessing tax credits, consulting on HR issues and staffing their companies. Nearly 1,500 placements were made, and an estimated 10,000 jobseekers were screened for jobs. Brooklyn residents found jobs and businesses saved valuable time and resources in the search for qualified candidates.

The Chamber receives its candidates from a multitude of sources. After being carefully screened to determine their qualifications, only individuals matching specific job descriptions are referred to a business for consideration.

“Today is an incredible day for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce,” said Chairman Peter Meyer. “As the voice of the Brooklyn business community, the Chamber has always been devoted to assisting Brooklyn businesses in finding qualified candidates for employment, and matching Brooklynites with suitable employment opportunities.”

The Brooklyn delegation was integral in helping to restore Good Help. Assemblyman and delegation leader Joe Lentol commended the members for bringing back the program. “The program’s ability to match Brooklyn job seekers with Brooklyn businesses in need of qualified employees will, no doubt, have a positive impact on our local economy and we are proud to help support this valuable initiative,” he said.

At Borough Hall, where the announcement was made, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz called the re-launch of the program “a real ‘win-win’ for Brooklynites…They say it’s hard to find good help these days, but bravo to the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and the Good Help initiative for making it a lot easier.”

In just over two months since its re-launch, Good Help has received an overwhelming response from the community, partnering with more than 20 businesses on nearly 50 job openings. Kenneth Conn of GEM Pawnbrokers has already found and hired more than 15 new employees over the past two months. “I don’t know of a better job program than this one,” he said.