About 100 ex-offenders are expected to attend workshops in Athens in October designed to help them find and keep jobs.

The first of two workshops, sponsored by the Georgia Department of Labor, will be held Wednesday, Oct. 5, from 10-11:30 a.m. at the GDOL’s Athens Career Center located at 150 Evelyn C. Neely Drive.

The second workshop will be held two weeks later, Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the same time and place.

Each workshop is expected to be attended by about 50 ex-offenders.

The workshops are part of The Offender Parolee Probationer State Training Employment Program. The program is designed to help ex-offenders move successfully from prison or probation into the workforce.

The workshops will focus on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Federal Bonding Program, which gives employers tax credits as incentives to hire ex-offenders and other individuals who have difficulty finding jobs, such as welfare recipients, veterans with dishonorable discharges and others with poor credit or work history.  

Attendees will register with Employ Georgia at www.employgeorgia.com, where they can get access to thousands of job openings. Then, they will view a power-point presentation and be given a packet of information on how individuals who have difficulty finding jobs may become more employable.

Other features of the workshops include access to retraining or on-the-job training, job search workshops, online resume tutorials, labor market information, internet access and other resources. Also, information on community resources, including connections to faith-based organizations, along with clothing and food banks, will be provided.