Looking For A Job?

American Job Centers & WIOA Services

Effectively utilizing federal and state workforce grants, the American Job Centers provide training opportunities for people who have been laid off from their job, receiving public assistance, persons with disabilities who are ready to work, mature workers, Veterans, and individuals who want to secure their high school diploma. Officially, we offer Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (WIOA) services, and here’s the bottom line…

The American Job Centers will help you sharpen your job search skills*:

  • Resumé writing
  • Interview skills
  • Filling out applications
  • Short-term training or tuition assistance for in-demand careers
  • Financial support during training ie: daycare, mileage, certification fee assistance, uniforms, books

Use the American Job Centers as your personal job search headquarters:

  • Assess your skills and develop a career plan
  • Match your skills with current job openings
  • File your unemployment insurance claim
  • Improve your resumé writing and interview skills
  • Boost your skills through targeted workshops and training
  • Connections to local employers
  • Access to the Internet, telephones, fax machines and career information

* Must meet federal program guidelines for some services and intensity of training

The following are handy websites to know if you are looking for a job:

Families First Programs

Workforce Essentials administers Employment and Case Management Services (something we like to call WorkFirstTN) to Families First (TANF) customers in 60 Counties located in Northern Middle, Southern Middle, Upper Cumberland, Northwest, Southwest, and three counties in the Greater Memphis Area.

With a focus on empowering families eligible for Families First on a course to achieve economic stability based on the four (4) core component activities of the Two-Generation Approach:

  1. Educational Success
  2. Workforce Development and Economic Assets
  3. Health and Well-being
  4. Social Capital

Our WorkFirstTN staff combine the (TANF) initiatives and offer a comprehensive network of services, including career assessments and job search, to help Tennessee’s DHS Families First clients succeed. 

What does that serious-sounding definition mean for you? If you’ve been enrolled in Families First through the TN Department of Human Services, and live in any of the 60 counties we serve, you’ll be referred to Workforce Essentials for activities such as job readiness skills, job training, placement services, and education components. Simple enough. Let’s get started working together!

Families First, Tennessee’s TANF Program, is a workforce development and employment program, with an emphasis on assisting individuals with finding work first while offering assistance with any of the necessary job skills. Participants may be eligible to receive childcare, transportation, and other support services bridging the gap from assistance to self-sufficiency through developing tailored career plans. 

WorkFirstTN GOALS:

Our primary goal is to quickly move Families First program clients into unsubsidized employment and to accomplish this prior to their 60-month lifetime limit of TANF services. Our service plan takes into account that a client must be engaged in a minimum of thirty (30) hours per week in a combination of core or non-core activities. Twenty (20) of the total thirty (30) hours will be in core activities. The core activities that we deliver are:

  • Unsubsidized employment
  • Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance
  • Work Experience
  • Vocational Educational Training
  • Community Service Programs

Non-core activities, such as adult education, job skills training directly related to employment, and job skills related to education will not exceed 10 hours of the required 30 hours of participation per week.

We know “core” and “non-core” sound a little stuffy and possibly better suited to describe an apple, but the program really works!

Tennessee Families First Program