Where there’s a skill there’s a way: Best Inc. helps job seekers, employers

STERLING – When it comes to getting help to find a job, a local employment agency has a simple rule: Everyone deserves the best.

Whether someone needs a new job, a new direction, or even help overcoming the challenges of a pandemic or epidemic, BEST Inc. has a host of services designed to get people back on their feet and taking steps in a new direction.

The Business Employment Skills Team, based in Oglesby with offices throughout the Sauk Valley, helps clients gain meaningful employment with job search assistance, on-the-job training and paid work experience. It also has services for those affected by the opioid epidemic, as well as apprenticeship programs.

BEST, a federally funded agency, began in 1984 to administer the Job Training Partnership Act in Bureau, La Salle, Lee and Putnam counties; it expanded to Carroll, Jo Daviess, Ogle and Whiteside counties in 2013, and today has offices in Dixon, Sterling, Mount Carroll and Oregon.

Helping job seekers attain skills to increase their likelihood of being the best candidate for the job, BEST can provide people with skills such as résumé writing, filling out online applications, brushing up on interviewing skills, or “upskilling” through college certificates or degrees.

“The primary mission is to assist eligible individuals get the skills they need to become self sufficient,” BEST Executive Director Carrie Folken said.

The agency can also help employers find the right fit for the right job, working with businesses to assess their needs and come up with a plan to fill them.

“For the business communities, it is helping with whatever workforce needs they may have, and some of those services could include: helping with recruitment, prescreening applications, upskilling current workforce, or assisting with labor market information,” said Folken.

They have a multitude of free services to help businesses with training, hiring and retention, Business Services Manager Dianna Schuler said.

Like countless other businesses and agencies, BEST has had to adapt to the new pandemic reality.

“Keeping individuals safe and healthy was, and is, a top priority,” Folken said. “We have introduced new podcasts and electronic workshops to help individuals get the services they need at their own time and safety.”

Apprenticeship programs can help businesses increase employee retention rates, get a positive return on their investment in an employee, customize a company’s training resources, and can be a cost-effective alternative to funding a college education. Through the “earn-and-learn” system, apprentices get on-the-job training while earning a wage.

Nikelle Tellier is in charge of conducting outreach to regional businesses, informing them of the benefits of apprenticeship training programs and helping them start a federally designed and approved program.

The apprenticeship initiative is open to all businesses in BEST’s territory, except for Ogle County, and is also available to those in Rock Island, Mercer and Henry counties.

“We have conducted outreach to health care, manufacturing, education, and economic development, and have plans to do the same with logistics and hospitality,” Tellier said. “Thus far we have had conversations with 120 entities, and are conducting follow-ups with those that have expressed interest in developing their own program.”

Not all of BEST’s clients are people in need of a job – some are just in need of a change.They’re burned out at the current job or just want to find something new, and BEST can help them navigate that sometimes tricky 180-degree career turn.

For some, landing a job can be tough when they feel like they’re in a holding pattern, something that’s become more common this past year. BEST Program Manager Joel Torbeck has met some of those people, and helped them, but he hopes to meet more, and invites people to learn about the services BEST offers.

“We have seen some people who have been laid off coming to us for assistance with their job search or to change careers,” Torbeck said. “The numbers have been less than we might have anticipated. Whether it’s because of needing to stay home with kids while schools were closed, fear of going back into the workplace during the pandemic, or just hoping that their previous employer calls them back, it seems that many who lost their jobs are just in a holding pattern.”

BEST can also financially assist people with tuition, books, fees, childcare, travel, etc. to help gain new skills.

Eligibility for retraining assistance is based on employment status, or on household income. Tuition assistance is limited to $13,500 per enrollment.

A pandemic isn’t the only thing that’s changed the way employment agencies like BEST do business. An epidemic has, too.

Among the many casualties of the opioid epidemic are people’s jobs. BEST has programs to help those people gain training, traction and employment.

The Opioid Dislocated Workers Grant is for those who have been impacted by the crisis, either themselves or by a family member or friend. Participants must also be unemployed or underemployed to meet the qualifications of the program. Eligible candidates can be placed into a paid work experience program. The grant can also help with transportation services and training.

More than 20 people currently are enrolled or seeking services in the program.

“It’s an opportunity that’s helped to open doors for many individuals,” coordinator Kerri Hicks said. “They are able to gain skills or add to the skills they currently have in order to find their full-time position.”


Cody Cutter

Cody Cutter

These days, Cody Cutter primarily writes for Sauk Valley Media's "Living" magazines and specialty publications in northern Illinois, including the monthly "Lake Lifestyle" magazine for Lake Carroll. He also covers sports and news on occasion; he has covered high school sports in northern Illinois for more than 20 years in online and print formats.