(Manassas, VA) - Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments is using EarthWalk’s eXpress 8x8’s to help residents find jobs in S.C., where unemployment rates are among the highest in the country.

The Pee Dee COG in Florence, S.C. can pack up and go anywhere due to EarthWalk’s one-stop-in-a-box eXpress, a portable computer lab solution which holds eight laptops and eight additional lithium-ion batteries for continuous use.

The customizable eXpress can be used to train job seekers, help employers find workers and prepare youth for future careers as part of Pee Dee’s workforce development initiative.

“EarthWalk has been used by our partners for a summer youth program, industries to upgrade skills of incumbent workers and is currently in place at a Transition Center for dislocated workers in a rural area,” Vickie P. Tyner, Workforce Development Director said. “EarthWalk was a life saver when our largest one stop’s server failed. EarthWalk was brought in and within hours customers were searching for jobs, completing résumés, upgrading basic skills or completing assessments."

EarthWalk attributes this success to the one-stop-in-a-box eXpress 8x8’s portability and ease of use. The eXpress easily transfers into rural communities where the unit is used in community centers, churches and most importantly, at job fairs.

Over 300 attendees at a local job fair had access to the eXpress to prepare for careers. Instead of setting up costly alternatives, the eXpress was used to set up a training area for job seekers. Testing software was employed on EarthWalk’s eBuddy laptops so that individuals could ensure readiness for jobs while becoming increasingly comfortable with technology. Employers then had the opportunity to select from a pool of qualified individuals efficiently.

“We’ve had an excellent response,” Territory Sales Manager Joann Rossel said. “Workforces find that the system is easy to move from one location to the next and with only one AC outlet and a network connection, eight job seekers are that much closer to being hired.”

Due to Pee Dee COG’s devotion to providing One-Stop delivery systems of employment services to individuals and employers, the eXpress 8x8’s have been utilized for both job searches and as a quick way for employers to staff, train and support business. At a time when unemployment has reached its highest, the eXpress 8x8 has been an essential tool that allows One-Stop Centers to continue to extend their services to the community.

The Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments purchased two EarthWalk eXpress 8x8’s in 2005. It is a state-organized administrative entity and grant recipient devoted to enhancing workforce competence through economic and community development within the S.C. counties of Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Marion and Marlboro. Through over three decades of operation, Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments has forged fruitful local, regional and national partnerships that have served beneficial and lasting results to the community with workforce development being only one of the services provided.

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