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 seekers 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 Butler County, the facility is called 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, Workforce One of Butler County will become: OhioMeansJobs — Butler County.

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 Butler, Warren and Clermont counties — said based on the state’s 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.”

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, 2 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 seeks 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.