Agency Steps In to Help Former Southwest Key Employees
BROWNSVILLE – Cameron County Workforce Solutions is stepping in to help the nearly 1,000 people that were laid off by the Southwest Key program.
Workforce Solutions filed a mass unemployment claim to make the process easier for the hundreds needing temporary income.
Former Southwest Key employee Karen Macias said she got a call back from a possible employer, but was overqualified for the job.
Macias said she is having a hard time finding a job despite having two bachelor’s degrees and being half-way through her master’s program.
She said there is a shortage and more competition for the few jobs that are available in the Rio Grande Valley.
“We were case managers. We have a bachelor’s and still it’s very competitive… It’s very limited here in the Valley at least, in the area. So, you pretty much have to look for jobs in other places,” she said.
Macias said she turned down other job offers to work for Southwest Key.
She said the company is at least paying her through June 10, giving her more time to job hunt.