Richmond County Employment Security Commission Director Judy Carpenter is well-acquainted with job searching in Richmond County.

Every day, her office assists anywhere from dozens to hundreds of people looking for a job. Since the onset of the current recession, that number is consistently higher.

“One thing someone who’s unemployed needs to remember is that employers have a better opportunity of picking their choice employees,” she said. “If you don’t have your high school diploma or your GED — you’re competing against people who do.”

She said the ESC recently surveyed about 200 people who got laid off from an area textile manufacturer, and 25 of them had no GED or high school diploma.

“I try to tell these displaced workers that I see that you’re competing against a lot of people because there’s a lot of people out of work right now,” she said. “You have to do everything you can to make yourself competitive.”

She pointed out the availability of adult and basic skills education in the county. “There’s really no excuse,” she said.

In addition to RCC’s James Building in Hamlet, where its basic skills classes are located, there are six other physical locations in the county, and people can also take GED classes online through the college. The preparation classes for the GED are free.

Carpenter pointed out that you can even take GED classes at the ESC for free.

“We’ve got free internet, free copier, free fax. This is really a great resource for people to come in here and help themselves become more competitive,” she said.

The data showing how many people in Richmond County don’t have at least an adult education degree isn’t compiled by employment security or the community college, but the 2006 census showed that 30 percent, nearly a third, of the adults in Richmond County haven’t graduated high school.

According to Richmond County Economic Development Director Rick Sago, education level is definitely something important to new employers who consider locating in the area.

“A lot of times, with companies we’ve brought in to visit over the last four or five years, workforce is a topic they want to discuss on the first day,” Sago said. “It used to be that it was all location and infrastructure, but now they want to be assured that the workforce is trained or can get trained.”

He said this isn’t a hard sell because of the myriad resources available in Richmond County, and the cooperation of the community college with commercial enterprises.

“Education is extremely critical when people want to go to work,” he said. “I’m not talking about a four-year degree here, I’m talking about the ability to get trained and educated for a job. With the community college, people have a great tool to improve themselves, they just have to take advantage of the services that are offered here in Richmond County.”

“Now, jobs have gotten more competitive than they once were,” RCC Director of Basic Skills Sherry Byrd said. “If an employer has one applicant who’s a graduate and one who’s not, who do you think they’re going to choose? The application with no degree is going in the trashcan.

“So really, you need some type of education and training to even be considered for a job,” she continued. “It’s just one less obstacle to you getting a good job.”

“The community college is commited to helping our workforce attain the skills and training that’s necessary to compete in today’s workplace,” RCC Director of Pre-Employment Programs Dr. Carlotta Griffin-Knotts said. “We understand that people are, first of all, looking for work. Of course they are, they have households to maintain and bills to pay, but they’re not just looking for a job. They’re looking for job stability and job security.”

She noted that the program she heads up doesn’t just help people get a diploma, they also offer services like resume-building and interviewing techniques.

“We are here to help people pull together the best possible package they can, so they can compete in today’s job market.”

She also pointed out the availability of Career Readiness Certificates through the community college. To obtain the certificate, one must show proficiency in three areas: reading for information, gathering information and applied mathematics.

The test costs $30 to take, and there are three different levels of proficiency: bronze, silver and gold. However, preparation classes for the certification test are offerd free of charge at the community college.

“Really, this is another tool that you can use to be competitive in the marketplace,” she said.

RCC Basic Skills Recruiter Anne Munn said that her efforts to get out and meet people face-to-face, and delivering presentations to church and civic organizations, are more successful than ever.

“It’s exciting to see that people in Richmond County are finally starting to plan ahead,” she said.