Skyline’s career center is helping students find more job opportunities and making an impact on San Bruno’s decreasing unemployment rates.

In a recent report by The California Employment Development Department, San Bruno’s unemployment rate has fallen to 4.6 percent, making it lower than both the states and San Mateo County’s at 8.9 percent and 5.3 percent respectively.

Since May of last year, the Career Services Center has established an employment development program which has serviced about 2000 Skyline students looking for jobs or internships.

Virginia Padrón, the Career Services Center Director, said that so far everyone who has come in looking for employment has been able to get either an internship or a job.

“The career development piece of the career services is very much entrenched in the community college here at Skyline,” she explained. “Many instructors know what we do; we do assessments, we do career counseling. But the
internship-employment is the area that we are branching out and developing.”

The program has been gaining a successful reputation amongst employers.

“We have a lot more jobs available then last semester,” said Alexander Jones, The Career Center Services Employment andInternship Coordinator. “Now it’s our job to get the students on board, bring them in here, and get them some training. They can do really well and in the end we can essentially get more jobs.”

Students will get an entry-level position in an area that is ideally associated with their career path, sometimes here on campus. Emily Lo, a Skyline student, was interested in going to a culinary school that required an internship or prior experience in food service which she didn’t have. Lo discovered The Career
Service Center where Padrón helped her get into a work-study program at the Skyline bookstore’s café.

“It’s been pretty amazing,” Lo said. “When I want to be a pastry chef, I want to cater to everyone’s taste. By the way people order their drinks along with what pastry they get, I can kind of tell ‘Oh that person would like this!’”

Any student who is looking for a minimum wage job can walk into the career center and expect to find plenty of resources and opportunities.

However, Jones stressed that the program is targeted more towards finding internships and entry-level jobs.

In order to get a higher paying job or to get into a specific program, a person must first have a very good background in the area that he or she is trying to get into. Since most internships require work experience, the program helps student find a job that would be beneficiary.

Skyline’s Career Center and employment development program is continuing to grow and impact the decreasing unemployment rate among students.

“You’re getting some money here and getting experience here,” Jones said. “If you do well and represent us, then we can keep moving you along the steps while you’re still doing your school and everything else in the process.”

According to Intership.com, a new survey reveals that 69 percent of companies with 100 or more employees offered full-time jobs to their interns. As Skyline’s Career Services propels students into internships and prepares them for full time jobs, it will continue to make a lasting difference in creating substantial careers in the community.