Engage with WorkLB
This program is expanding in phases that are defined by types of work. Currently we are focused on childcare and hospitality. Both rely on workers for short periods; after-school programs, or busy weekend evenings in restaurants for example. And both offer opportunities for skills progression, plus pathways into full time posts such as teaching or management.
In later phases we aim to also sustain pools of workers with experience or aspirations around building, retail, logistics, and delivery of services such as senior care. The goal is for each person to have a portfolio of employment that will deliver the hours they need while employers are able to identify a pool of flexible workers who it is worth inducting and training ready for periods of need.
OUR PROCESS FOR NEW USERS
Workers in WorkLB are employees with protections and benefits, not independent contractors as with "gig work" apps. That requires formal onboarding. One of our team will stay in touch to help with the process as a work-seeker or employer.
WORK-SEEKERS
Once you register, we will ask to arrange a phone or face-to-face interview. During that, we will work through your experience, allocating appropriate badges. We then discuss the employers for whom you seem a good fit and will apply a badge proposing you to them.
So, for example, a commercial agency we work with value our “informal childcare experience” badge when looking at proposed school aides they might train. In this way, experience caring for a sibling or family friend can become a gateway to formal certification.
Once you are proposed to one or more of our employers, our team will stay in touch. But WorkLB is not your employer-of-record. Each organization will have to formally vet and onboard you. We can advise which do that promptly, so you can start getting bookings quickly if needed.
Once you are approved by a first employer, it’s worth entering your availability in the app or on the web. You can then be booked, within your rules about notice time, travel distance, and shift length. And additional employers may also be approving you, so diversity and frequency of work periods increases. Typically, our employers run payroll the week after you work.
EMPLOYERS
We work with quality employers who accept that even flexible workers are entitled to employee status with benefits and protections. The platform will pro-rate your settings for these for each hour worked. We encourage you to foster a regular pool of top-up workers you rely on and invest in any training (formal or informal) that increases their value to you.
When contacted by an employer, we immediately ask: do we have the workers needed? If so, we can share anonymized data so you can decide how useful we might be. Assuming there’s a fit, our next step is to understand your needs. These can become part of our badging. As example, it has been suggested we have a badge “Comfortable Working on Boats”. Long Beach’s marine economy needs hospitality workers, so identifying people who don’t get seasick saves everyone’s time.
Any specific roles you require can be set up, with payrates, and offered to workers with any required badges. Going forward, we will factor you badging needs into work-seeker interviews and set up a badge proposing workers we think will be a good fit for your team to vet and hopefully approve onto your payroll to be booked as needed.
Please note: WorkLB is not an employer-of-record so we can legally only ask workers if they have certain qualifications, not check the validity of their certification. We are working to identify an intermediary employer of record that will cover all sectors in return for a markup built into each hour booked. They could serve companies that don’t want to set up payroll files for flexible workers.
THE WORKLB TEAM
PROGRAM MANAGER: James Lindamood
James is a regular volunteer for mental health charities. After working in the healthcare sector he joined the Long Beach charity Skills4Care where he became their project manager for the WorkLB pilot. James recruited, vetted and staffed for the assignments. He then joined Pacific Gateway Workforce Partnership as Director of Economic Innovation.
OPERATIONS CO-ORDINATOR: Brenda Cortes
A graduate of Long Beach City College’s Business Management program, Brenda is soon to complete her bachelor’s at CSULB. She has spent 7 years in customer service for a national retailer. A lifelong Long Beach resident, she volunteers at a city school, helping children read, learn math and play. Brenda supports WorkLB’s worker-seekers on their path to employment through our platform.
SENIOR ADVISOR: Wingham Rowan
Wingham ran UK government programs that developed a platform for “Good gig work” within public employment agencies. Funded by national philanthropies he has advised multiple US workforce agencies on options for supporting individuals seeking non-standard employment.
PROGRAM SUPPORT: Utilia Guzman
Utilia is Head of Special Projects at Pacific Gateway. She oversees programs addressing the needs of opportunity youth and other target groups. She has organized multiple job fairs and workforce events. Utilia oversees WorkLB’s budgeting and contracting arrangements with non-profits and other partners.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Nick Schultz
Nick has over twenty-three years of direct experience in the field of economic and workforce development. He serves as both the Executive Director of PGWIN – a public workforce organization serving five cities in our area – and as the Bureau Manager for the City of Long Beach’s workforce development bureau.
Contact Us
WorkLB is based at Pacific Gateway, the City of Long Beach public workforce board:
4811 Airport Plaza Dr.
Long Beach, CA 90815
(562) 570-3747