WorkOne's Learning Lab teaching more than job skills in Lafayette

By Max Showalter, Journal & Courier

mshowalter@journalandcourier.com

Earlier this year, 600 people applied for 18 production jobs at Ice Cream Specialties Co. in Lafayette.

When it was learned that roughly 20 percent of the job seekers lacked the basic skills that were required for those positions, personnel at Lafayette WorkOne renewed their efforts to prevent a recurrence.

"We said, 'We're not the unemployment center. We're the skills center,' " said Chris Cohee, a regional coordinator for WorkOne.