DISLOCATED WORKER SERVICES OVERVIEW
Virginia’s Dislocated Worker Unit’s Regional Rapid Response Teams work with your employer to provide transition services at your work site and before the last day of work. We customize the services based on your needs and the needs of your company. Our goal is to get you back to work as soon as possible.
Rapid Response is initiated when the Dislocated Worker Unit or Rapid Response team learns of impending layoffs. Many companies will contact the Dislocated Worker Unit to notify them of a layoff and invite them to come on site to provide assistance. In some cases, employers are required to provide 60 days notice before a layoff. If you know your company is planning layoffs and you have not been told that rapid response services will be available to you, or your company laid you off without notice, please contact
To develop a transition services package in conjunction with your employer, the Rapid Response team will gather information about your needs by asking you to complete a survey called the Workforce Development Services Need Questionnaire. This will help them begin to organize the services necessary to help you return to work.
At employee orientation meetings, you will be informed about services and benefits designed to help you get back to work, including:
- Career counseling and job search assistance
- Resume preparation and interviewing skills workshops
- Local labor market information
- Unemployment insurance
- Education and training opportunities
- Health benefits and pensions
Local services in your community include use of computers, telephones, fax machines and group workshops to assist with your job search.