Newsmaker Q&A: Reita Sobeck-Lynch

Reita Sobeck-Lynch was formally chosen this week by county legislators as employment and training services director following the retirement of Jerry Garmong last year. She comes to the county after having worked for Allegany Arc for about a year and a half and for 24 years as administrator at Wellsville Manor. The Wellsville resident talked about her new department.

How did you come to be a candidate for the job?

“The position was posted in November. I interviewed with the Planning and Development Committee,” Sobeck-Lynch said. “We certainly helped a lot of people and provided a lot of training programs (at Allegany Arc). The Wellsville Manor provides training programs as well. The administrator was involved with the human resources?department in recruitment and retention. As an administrator, I was responsible for overseeing the entire operation. I had the shortest job description. ‘

How is the transition to your new job going?

“It’s going very well. It’s a very busy department. I’ve been meeting the employees and finding out what they do,”?Sobeck-Lynch said. “Many of them have years of experience with this department. The employees here are very good at matching people up with jobs.”

Sobeck-Lynch inherits a department that served about 8,000 people in 2010 and helped 87 percent of them find employment.

“The average wage of these employees is $11.22 an hour,”?she said, referring to the people who find jobs after visiting the center.

What are some of the challenges you see?

Sobeck-Lynch says the state may cut local Workforce Investment Act (WIA)?funds.

“I think that’s our No. 1 challenge right now. I guess we’re like every other agency or department right now,”?Sobeck-Lynch said. “We don’t really know how deep the cuts might be. Certainly, we’d like to see the unemployment rate go down.”

What would you like to accomplish in this job?

“I’d like to work with the Office of Development. As, hopefully, new businesses are coming into Allegany County, they’ll have to have a skilled workforce,”?she said. “We certainly need to stay abreast of the needs of our local businesses.

“I?think we need to maintain good relationships with the colleges we have (Alfred University, Alfred State College, Houghton College, Jamestown Community College and St. Bonaventure University),”?Sobeck-Lynch said.

What else do you want the public to know about the Employment and Training Center?

“There’s so much that goes on here. I want the public to know what goes on here,”?said Sobeck-Lynch, who was eager to hand out pamphlets with information on her department’s services, which include job readiness training (JRT), on-the-job training (OJT, access to job-seeking resources such as want ads, civil service announcements, resumé writing, career-guidance assistance and information on local training programs.

“I think a lot of outreach about the services we provide is something we should be focusing on.”