“This is what we do,” she said from her office in Blaine last week. “(We) really help people find employment opportunities and the resources they’re going to need.” Swanson said her agency’s website lists dozens of companies who are hiring right now.
“There’s many, many employers that are hiring,” she said. She noted that there are jobs in elder care, the food service industry, and shipping industry. “It changes every single day.”
As the shutdown unfolded and the stay at home order from Governor Tim Walz began to unfold, Swanson said her employees had to figure a new way of doing business.
“We used to do in-person hiring events here every week,” she said. “Right now, we’re doing those virtually.”
She said she’s tried to find ways to reach people who may not have high-speed internet access as readily available, and that’s been a challenge.
“I think we’re really able to focus on the actual work versus in the weeks prior we were figuring out how to do our work,” she said.
