In this day and age, information is crucial not only for survival, but for making progress. The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) wants you to know about valuable, yet little known, resources that can help you meet your bottom-line goals as employers.
IDES administers federally funded employment services and unemployment insurance through its 70 offices, including the Illinois Employment and Training Centers (IETCs) located throughout the state. IDES also provides and analyzes labor market statistics.
IDES can help you find employees, provide a place for you to recruit and interview them, analyze the labor force, and access tax credits.
Here are five key business resources that we offer for employers:
- www.Illinoisskillsmatch.com. Illinoisskillsmatch.com can help employers fulfill their staffing needs. Illinoisskillsmatch.com is an online job matching service that matches employers' job openings to the skills of qualified workers. Employers can enter their job openings through this service at no charge and at any time of the day. If a job seeker's skills match the skills an employer requires, Illinoisskillsmatch.com notifies the employer and job seeker of the match. Then, the employer has the option of arranging an interview. Illinoissillsmatch.com has successfully matched thousands of employers' job openings to qualified workers' skills.
- Recruiting and Interviewing Services at Our Local Offices. Employers can conduct employee interviews and recruitment drives at IDES' Illinois Employment and Training Centers. These offices are equipped with meeting rooms and computers with Internet access.
- Tax Credits. IDES can help employers access tax credits for hiring job seekers with disadvantaged backgrounds. The Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit provides employers who hire long-term welfare recipients as much as $8,500 per new hire. Also, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit provides up to $2,400 per hire to employers who hire certain disadvantaged people, including welfare recipients; ex-felons; SSI recipients; 18- to 24-year-old food stamp recipients; residents of an empowerment zone, enterprise community, or renewal community; veterans who are members of a family that received food stamps; and disabled people who are completing rehabilitative services approved by a state or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. For more information on tax credits, visit http://www.ides.state.il.us/employer/uitax/credits.asp.
- Bonding. Employers who need insurance to protect themselves against employee dishonesty, theft, or embezzlement can apply for fidelity bonds through IDES. Fidelity bonds are provided at no cost to employers. They provide up to $5,000 worth of coverage for people who have a firm offer of full-time work but who either have a record of arrest, conviction, or imprisonment or a dishonorable military discharge.
- Workforce Information. Whether you need data on statewide or local wages paid for particular jobs, industry projections, or the condition of the labor force, IDES can help you. You can find most of our workforce information online at www.ILWorkinfo.com or by calling our One Source hotline at 1-866-663-7723.
Employers can get help accessing all of these services by visiting a local Illinois Employment and Training Center or by 1-888-367-4382. IDES looks forward to serving you and helping you reach your bottom-line goals. IBI
