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For those who need help finding a new job or career, or for business owners struggling to find a path to success or to avoid failure, San Benito County’s Community Services & Workforce Development offers a wide variety of resources to support their journey.
Operating under federal and state-funded mandates such as the 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the agency offers programs that bridge the gap between unemployment and a new job by providing vocational instruction, paid work experience and personalized career mentoring.
At its Sept. 15 meeting, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors proclaimed September 2026 as Workforce Development Month, recognizing the agency’s work with local employers, educators and community partners to connect residents with employment and career opportunities.
“Workforce Services is specifically intended to help the most in-need get trained,” Deputy Director Enrique Arreola said. “We have an expectation that they can then earn living wages with jobs that are giving them benefits, and they’re living comfortably.”
For those facing sudden unemployment, the path forward begins with a structured intake process. Participants are paired with employment counselors for a personalized orientation and information on the local job market. The goal is to help them enter high-demand industry jobs that offer competitive living wages rather than low-income and possibly stagnant jobs.
“We need to help those we assist become more self-sufficient,” Arreola said. “Everything starts with training, everything starts with your education, the investment in yourself. If people come in because they need assistance, Workforce can be the root of their prosperity.”
Core programs include
- Individual Training Accounts: classroom vocational instruction in high-growth fields, such as medical and pharmacy tech, commercial truck driving, building and construction jobs, and tax preparation. Tuition is fully funded up to $5,000 per participant.
- Work Experience Program: paid work placements where the county acts as the official employer of record. Participants gain experience in county, municipal or approved private-sector work. The program offers up to 450 hours of employment at $18.50 an hour
- On-the-Job Training: a direct hiring program where the county reimburses employers for wages during the participant’s initial training period.
- Dislocated Worker Program: specialized support and a statewide referral network for workers impacted by mass layoffs or closures.
Approximately 2,000 people come through the doors each year for various level-one resources, including unemployment guidance, resume assistance, job readiness workshops, computer lab access and job fairs.
Up to 50 participants are enrolled in the training programs each year and 30 to 50 people are placed into jobs.
Monica, a graduate of the work experience program who declined to provide her last name, faced unemployment when the doctor she worked for as a receptionist closed his practice. Receiving one week’s notice “out of the blue,” she said she struggled with moving forward before coming to Workforce.
“I had my little one so I needed a job,” she said. “And I wanted it to give me an opportunity to expand my knowledge outside of the medical field. I wanted to see what they could offer, what they could help with, and maybe work with my resume to make it better.”
Workforce counselors helped her prepare for her interviews by holding one-on-one sessions where they went over what they thought interviewers would ask.
“It gave me a little bit more confidence for the interviews,” Monica said. “I took a temporary position in an office for seven months, just to get me back in the groove of working. A position opened, and I ended up getting it. I am going on seven years now as a county employee.”
Monica said she had to overcome her shyness and embarrassment over being jobless, but quickly discovered how supportive the staff could be.
“They are here to help you,” she said. “They are here to guide you. They help you better yourself. And if you are willing to do the work as well, then you will be able to succeed and move on and grow in whatever position that you get. Take the help.”
Beyond training and job placement, the agency partners with local businesses, providing a portal for job recruitment, marketing support, job fair coordination, and pre-layoff assistance that offers hope to those facing career disruptions.
Business Services Lead Lizz Sanchez Turner said her main goal is to provide workforce services and meet employers’ workforce needs.
“Most of the time, we get calls from employers who have positions open and have struggled to fill them,” she said. “We help promote their positions through social media and different venues. We also organize job fairs as well as recruitment events right here in our courtyard.”
The agency also helps small businesses with marketing and tax assistance, serving as “an advocate at no cost,” Turner said.
As part of the business services, Turner said she also coordinates responses to any local layoffs involving 50 or more employees.
“I get together with the state and the Employment Development Department,” she said. “Then we find out what we can do to help the employees that are being laid off, either on-site or at the office.”
Turner said she is particularly excited about a free program offered through Metrix Learning exclusively for San Benito County residents. Open to any adult, the program offers more than 7,000 online courses across 10 career pathways representing more than 200 occupations.
The program covers a range of subject areas, from basic workplace skills to specialized technical fields like refrigeration and business management.
“People can get training free of charge,” Turner said. “Someone in need of soft skills can find tons of opportunities on that platform. They can go through modules to reach a level of certified training. It allows people to sharpen their skills independently.”
Along with the support Workforce Development offers businesses and the unemployed, Arreola said the office is conveniently located within a hub of key social services off San Felipe Road.
“We have public assistance upstairs for low-income individuals,” he said. “We have medical services, homeless and housing services, the Food Bank and Behavioral Health in the back. This campus is really designed to serve the essential needs of our community and our public.”
Community Services & Workforce Development
1111 San Felipe Road, Suite 107, Hollister
Mon-Fri 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Contact info:
America’s Job Center of California: (831) 637-5627
Children and Adult Services: (831) 636-4190
Community Services Workforce and Development: (831) 637-9293
Public Assistance: (831) 636-4180
Environmental Health: (831) 636-4035
Public Health Services: (831) 637-5367
Email: infohhsa@sanbenitocountyca.gov
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