County job centers will be transitioning to the OhioMeansJobs name as part of a statewide effort to brand the public workforce system. The goal: make it easier for employers to connect with qualified employees.

“When businesses need employees they will know there is only one place to look,” John Weber, deputy director of Workforce Development for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) said.

One stop centers offer an array of services to job seeks and businesses such as customized workplace training and matching jobs skills to employer needs. There are 90 job centers in Ohio to serve the state’s estimated 388,000 unemployed workers and each goes by a different name.

In Greene County, the facility is called GreeneWorks Employment and Training Center. In Miami, Darke, Preble and Shelby counties, it’s the Job Center network. Other name variations include the Montgomery County One-Stop Job Center and Workforce One of Butler County.

“This has been especially difficult for employers with multiple (employment) sites throughout Ohio,” Weber said. “The branding will give us consistency.”

Within six months all job centers will carry the OhioMeansJobs brand, followed by the county name, Weber said. For example, the WorkPlus One Stop Center of Clark County will become: OhioMeans Jobs - Clark County.

Lehan Peters, deputy director of Workforce Development for Clark County’s Department of Job and Family Services in Springfield, said that Ohio trails other states — like South Carolina and Georgia —in similar branding efforts and the change needs to be done.

She does fear the name change may cause confusion.

“For us, WorkPlus is everywhere,” Peters said. “Initially, at least while we educate the general public about the name change, especially employers, it would be nice to co-brand.”

By co-branding, Peters said she meant using both the old and new name.

The state will provide a total of $600,000 in federal Workforce Investment Act funding to help job centers pay for new signs and literature. Specific allocations have not been set.

Douglas High, executive director of the WorkforceOne Investment Board of Southwest Ohio — serving Warren, Butler and Clermont counties- said based on the state’ preliminary budget for the transition, he doesn’t believe it will cover all of the related costs.

“Cost is a concern,” he said. “We’re all waiting to see what the state’s policy will be.”

Health MacAlpine, assistant director of Montgomery County’s Workforce Development Division, said the job center at 1111 S. Edwin C. Moses Blvd. in Dayton encompasses services beyond workforce. In addition to the county Department of Job and Family Services, the center also houses the Montgomery County Office of Ex-Offender Re-Entry, the Ohio National Guard, Parity Inc., the Sinclair Fast Forward program, and dozens of other offices.

OhioMeansJobs- Montgomery County, therefore, will be one office within the Montgomery County Job Center, MacAlpine said.

“We see a value in co-branding,” he said.

High said the southwest Ohio group also may co-brand.

The name change is one piece of the state’s plan to streamline and improve access to job training and better link the local employment centers with OhioMeansJobs.com. Currently, two million Ohioans have posted resumes on the state website. Weber said the next step is to develop the website into a self-service employment center that offers all services available at job centers.

“We think this will increase the number of people we serve,” Weber said. “I think the younger generation will definitely take advantage of this. It’s how they do business. White collar workers might also find it more appetizing.”

The county centers will remain open for job seekers who feel more comfortable talking to staff.

ODJFS, with a $12 million grant from the Department of Labor, will begin rolling out additional services on the website this summer and by 2014 OhioMeansJobs.com is expected to be a full service virtual employment center.