HELENA — Searching for a job can be tough, especially knowing where and how to start the search. It’s something that some former federal employees are trying to navigate, and the Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) is there to help. On Wednesday, DLI hosted a "rapid response" job transition support event across its 18 job service offices in the Treasure State to help former federal workers.
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“When we hold a rapid response event, our main intention is to make sure that we get information to folks who have been impacted by a layoff as quickly as possible," said Crystal Armstrong, Deputy Administrator of the Workforce Services Division at the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.
The agency has taken similar actions recently in response to large layoffs. In April 2024, DLI announced a Skills Matching Dashboard to assist workers affected by recent lumber mill closures. In September 2024, DLI responded to layoffs at the Sibanye-Stillwater mine with a mining-specific Skills Matching Tool to help affected workers identify new job opportunities, and supplied additional supports to Job Service Offices across the state.
At the job service office in Helena on Wednesday, DLI staff walked attendees through unemployment insurance applications and introduced them to DLI’s tools for job seekers.
“What we've seen these layoffs is we've had a lot of folks with a wide range of skill sets anything from the outdoor and natural resources talents, related to biology, forestry, land management to more technical positions where folks are doing research behind the scenes, or working in a more public-facing position," said Armstrong.
Armstrong told MTN there are many job openings, including over 650 in the Helena job service office’s area. More than 300 of those are jobs at the State of Montana.
DLI helps people looking for work market themselves to employers.
“We also have staff at all of our job service locations who can help you do that and walk you through the steps, particularly looking at your existing resume, skills, and most recent job. They can help translate those [towards landing a new role] and explore additional career options," said Armstrong.
For those who can’t make it into a job service office, help is also available online.
“We’ve got skills matching tools online that folks can use as a self-service, where you can list the skills that you have, or you can look up positions that you're interested in to see where skills align,” said Armstrong.
Armstrong explained when and why DLI hosts 'rapid response' events:
While unemployment and job seeking can be difficult, DLI hopes their tools can make the experience easier, not just for former federal employees, but also for anyone in the Treasure State looking for a job.
