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REDC Joins with Local Agencies to Offer Job & Business Resources

https://www.ycazbusinesses.org

The coronavirus will impact Yavapai County's people and businesses long after the virus has passed. But Yavapai College's Regional Economic Development Center (REDC) and a coalition of 24 local municipalities and federal and state agencies have deployed a new website to help county job seekers and businesses find immediate help.

YCAZBUSINESSES.ORG is a onestop site for job listings, business loan information, and a variety of resources for those struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. The site, which rolled out April 15, was developed through a partnership between the REDC, Arizona @ Work, the Arizona Commerce Authority, the Northern Arizona Council of Governments (NACOG), the U.S. Small Business Administration, and a coalition of Yavapai County's chambers of commerce, cities and towns.

YCAZBUSINESSES.ORG centralizes employment leads, recovery resources and more onto a single, up-to-date website. "There's so much to do – both in the shortand long-term," REDC Program Specialist Katherine Anderson said. "There's new information – new guidelines, new programs, new opportunities – and it's all changing daily. The challenge is to find accurate information about jobs and programs that will help people locally."

YCAZBUSINESSES.ORG provides leads and tools for anyone in northern Arizona whose work has been shuttered or hindered by the coronavirus. Business owners can apply for disaster assistance from the Small Business Administration; YC's Small Business Development Center can help with application assistance and business counseling; Arizona @ Work lists open jobs, businesses recruiting talent, and assistance for those filing for unemployment; the Arizona Commerce Authority offers a variety of COVID-19-related business resources; the Northern Arizona chapter of SCORE can supply business advice; the REDC features on-line job fairs as well as links to training and workshops; and Community Health Services AZ provides the timely data on the virus and its impact on Yavapai County and its economy.

YCAZBUSINESSES.ORG also provides a timely and comprehensive list of services, grant and loan opportunities and, yes, jobs. "There are positions available," said Anderson, who said as many as 21 companies had posted there recently. "A lot of stores – Fry's, CVS, Costco – need people now."

The site's partnership coalition includes virtually every city and town in northern Arizona, so its reach is vast, but its goal is simple: economic recovery. "This is what we do," Anderson said, "Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, Sedona, Cottonwood, Verde Valley – we're one big county and we work together."

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Regional Economic and Small Business Dev Centers Standing by with Recovery Resources

In addition to offering resources on YCAZBUSINESSES.ORG, Yavapai College's local business thinktanks – the Regional Economic Development Center (REDC) and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) – will also be available directly to assist local business owners and employers with:

Small Business Loan Resources – The SBDC has the latest information on new business loans the Small Business Administration has authorized in response to the pandemic. SBDC experts are available to answer specific questions from small business owners, identify particular programs or even guide business owners through the SBA application process. Visit their website

Job Fairs Going Online – Shelter in-place restrictions forbid the inperson job fairs that the REDC had scheduled across Yavapai County. So the REDC has put that information online. Job seekers can visit the Job Fair page off the REDC website (www.yc.edu/REDC) for up-to-date information on local companies still looking for personnel.

For any additional questions, please call: (928) 717-7332.