The Shelbyville Job Center has a new office manager. Autumn Buus took over as the Job Center office manager and career specialist on October 15, 2009. She replaced Kathy Roessler who resigned and moved out of Shelbyville.

Buus is married to Derek and they have one child, Austin, and they live in Taylorville.

The Job Center is funded by the West Central Development Council and that is who Buus actually works for. She started working for the Council in May 2009. Before West Central Development Buus worked for ATT for about three years. Buus graduated from Blackburn College with a double Bachelor Degree in Communications and International Relations.

“The West Central Development Council is a non-profit organization that uses state and federal monies to be put back into the community,” explained Buus.

West Central Development Council executive director Mike Sherer said he is pleased to have Buus in the Shelbyville facility.

“Autumn is well qualified for that position and I feel she will do a great job for the residents of Shelby County,” said Sherer. “We always have great support from our board of directors and the Shelby County Board for that office in Shelbyville.”

The Job Center offers job seekers, as well as employers a wide range of resources. The Center serves as an employment and training service. It is not a job placement agency.

If a person is looking for a job, they can come into the Job Center and look at available jobs in the area on the job board. That board is basically a bulletin board with a huge array of job postings for the area, and by area that might mean surrounding communities such as Mattoon or Effingham.

The staff at the Job Center can also help you find a job by offering helpful information on such things as writing a good resume or go back to school.

The Center offers software for resume writing and can help people seeking jobs to send their resumes electronically via e-mail. There is a phone, fax machine and copier, which may be used free of charge for job seekers.

“A lot of what I do is get people enrolled in school, especially people who could not afford school otherwise,” Buus said. “We help them get the necessary education and then set up in high growth industries such as truck drivers, welding, nursing, accounting and fields where jobs are available.”

Through WIA (Workforce Investment Act) the Job Center will pay two years of an educational program, and that includes tuition, books, fees, and even mileage to drive back an forth. That program is available to adults who meet the income requirements or dislocated workers who have been permanently laid off or terminated from their position.

The Job Center also offers a youth program for persons ages 16 - 21. This program is geared towards lower income or at-risk youth and places the youths with an employer. The Job Center pays the wages, while the employer oversees the job.

The employer keeps a checklist and makes notes on the youth’s work habits, how they get along with other employees and other traits that stand out to the employer.

The Center also provides a place for a Veteran’s Representative who counsels veterans and helps them locate employment.

The Job Center provides valuable resources for any county resident to find employment.

“We really offer everything you would need to find a job,” said Buus.