One company’s decision to open a new solar manufacturing plant will help to create Arizona state jobs.

Gov. Jan Brewer recently announced that Tower Automotive plans to build its solar component manufacturing plant in the Phoenix metro area, a move that will create up to 200 new jobs.

“This is a significant win for Arizona in that it advances our competitive position in the global market and further establishes Arizona’s foothold in the solar industry,” Brewer said. “My goal is to land the top solar manufacturers in the world; creating jobs that put Arizonans back to work and help Arizona families get back on their feet.”

Once Tower Automotive locates to Arizona, it will be eligible under the new Renewable Energy Tax Incentive program, which provides refundable tax credits and property tax reductions for manufacturers.

“Tower Automotive is excited to bring our technology and expertise to the Southwestern United States through the establishment of manufacturing operations in the metro Phoenix area,” Bill Pumphrey, President of the Americas for Tower Automotive, said.

“Through the support of our customer, Stirling Energy Systems, and the State of Arizona, both of which made this possible, we are confident that this is the start of exciting growth opportunities for our company, our colleagues and the communities we support,” he continued.

Tower Automotive is one of the largest independent global suppliers of automotive metal structural components and assemblies. The company is building the new plant in an effort to diversify its product line to manufacture parts for Stirling Energy Systems, which will be used to generate grid-quality solar electric power.

“We’re pleased that Tower Automotive, one of our full service supplier partners, will be joining us in Arizona with a state-of-the-art high tech facility to manufacture components for our SunCatcherTM technology,” Steve Cowman, CEO for Stirling Energy Systems, said.

“We commend Governor Brewer and congratulate the State of Arizona for their efforts in securing Tower Automotive’s location to Arizona,” he added.

Tower Automotive currently operates about 40 manufacturing and product development facilities in 13 countries throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

Portland medical jobs and healthcare positions throughout the State of Oregon will account for the majority of employment growth through 2018.

The Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton area’s education and health services industry employed 137,100 workers during October, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 134,100 workers during September and a .6 percent increase from last year.

According to the Oregon Employment Department, the state as a whole is expected to add more than 160,000 jobs between 2008 and 2018, accounting for an increase of 9 percent. This is similar to the 165,000 jobs, or 10 percent, growth seen during the previous decade.

The Portland area and the Willamette Valley will add the majority of jobs through 2018, with the highest levels of job growth expected in the central and southern regions of the state and the lowest levels of job growth expected in the northeast region.

Statewide, the education and health services industry should add about 50,000 jobs, which is the highest expected growth for any industry, with private education and health services employment to increase by 23 percent. Healthcare will account for most of the new jobs, mainly because of Oregon’s aging population, as the number of those 65-years and older could grow by 45 percent through 2018.

The professional and business services industry is expected to add 27,600 jobs, an increase of 14 percent, with industry growth driven by growth in the state’s economy and more firms hiring other businesses to provide support activities.

The leisure and hospitality industry should add 21,500 jobs, an increase of 12 percent. Food services and drinking places, the largest sector in the industry, are expected to grow as the population increases, adding 15,700 jobs, while the arts, entertainment and recreation sector will add 3,200 jobs.

The trade, transportation and utilities industry – the largest industry in Oregon – is expected to add 30,900 jobs, the second-highest amount of any industry. The retail trade sector will add about 20,000 jobs.

The government industry should add 25,000 jobs, an increase of 8 percent. Throughout Oregon, federal government will see a decrease in employment, mainly because of U.S. Postal Service job cuts and the cleanup of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency. At the same time, tribal employment will grow by 14 percent as casinos expand.

The construction and information industries will grow at a slow pace and add few jobs. After losing thousands of jobs during the recession, construction is expected to return to its share of about 5 percent of total employment. For the information industry, losses in the traditional print industries will offset job gains in software publishing and data hosting services.

The manufacturing industry is expected to rebound during the 10-year period, but will not return to its pre-recession employment level, and is the only industry expected to lose jobs through 2018.

To compile the report, the labor department examined historical trends and other forecasts to help project state employment changes during the 10-year period. The forecasts are meant to be used in conjunction with occupational reports to help students decide on careers, schools decide on training programs, businesses decide on strategic plans and governments decide on budgets and services.

In order to stay competitive in a market full of options, staffing software providers have to constantly update their existing products or create new ones. By doing this, providers makes sure that their services do not become outdated and continue to give their users the best possible services. According to a recent press release, recruiting software provider Sendouts has introduced its newest product, Sendouts Surge, to the world.

The release states that Surge is a remake of Sendouts Pro, featuring a newly redesigned interface. This will enable recruiting professionals to waste less time managing their HR software, which will give them more time to focus on cultivating relationships with both clients and job candidates. On top of this, the new interface gives users the ability to navigate through applications faster, handle complex tasks, source and customize their databases in a more efficient manner.

Aside from a revamped interface, Sendouts Surge has several other new features. Sendout Recon, for example, automatically sources up to 11,000 free and paid job boards for job seekers that fit with orders already in the users system. Recon will make it possible for users to accomplish a good deal without even having to be near their computer.

Sendout SuperFind, a new global search feature, will allow users to search through all records on their database from anywhere. Another feature, SourcePro, allows for real time integration. This gives clients access to Yahoo! Hotjobs resume database.

“Recruiting firms spoke, and we listened. We had one goal when creating the all new Sendouts Surge: create the ultimate balance of powerful features and ease of use,” said Sendouts’ Chief Technology Officer Rick Hall in the recent release. “This flagship product has redefined the user experience by targeting the exact pains currently facing the recruiting and staffing industry.”

Combined, Surge promises users that the 55 new productivity enhancements will deliver increase performance with 20 percent less clicks than other applicant tracking systems.

Deciding which recruiting software product to purchase can be a difficult decision, since there are so many options on the market. Factors that play a part in these choices include such things as cost, the size of the business in question, usability and industry. After considering these things, Kelly Services has chosen Bullhorn’s HR product for its software needs, according to a recent press release.

The release went on to say that Kelly Services, which is considered to be a leader in workforce management services, plans to use the software to improve its already existing applicant recruitment and placement operations. This will be particularly true for the company’s U.S. professional and technical divisions.

“We selected Bullhorn for its premier software solution as well as for the company’s proven industry experience and thought-leadership,” said Kelly Services’ senior vice president and general manager Steve Armstrong in the release. “Bullhorn demonstrated a solid grasp of Kelly’s technology needs and presented a comprehensive solution to improve and streamline recruiting, record-keeping and placement of qualified candidates with customers.”

Since Bullhorn’s HR software is designed for functionality, it allows for multiple users to view the program at the same time: a feature that is very useful for an operation the size of Kelly Services. By using this product, the company’s workers will be able to view all of an employees documents, including job orders, resumes and notes.

“As a leader in workforce solutions, Kelly Services understands the need for a robust solution that can handle thousands of users and millions of requests each day for sharing information across their wide network of branch offices,” said Bullhorn’s CEO and co-founder Art Papas in the same release. “We’re very excited to partner with Kelly Services and look forward to helping the company continue its growth through the use of software solutions that enable fast and effective ways to generate, source and fill job orders.”



One applicant tracking company is making it easier for companies to find out about potential and current employees’ backgrounds.

myTalentLink, a division of Staffing Solutions Enterprises, has announced the expansion of their applicant tracking business to include Asurint’s Integrated Background Screening Solution.

The company’s ATS is designed to help small and medium-sized companies attract talent, improve recruitment productivity and reduce cost-per-hire. The new function will allow companies to track the status of background checks. myTalentLink also offers vendor management software and outsourced vendor management solutions.

“Now clients will not have to leave the applicant tracking system and can easily track which candidates have been sent for a background check and then view the results,” Judy Konya, myTalentLink director, said in a press release. “We are always looking for ways to help automate the recruitment process and the integration with Asurint’s Background Screening Solution helps streamline the recruitment process even more.”

Asurint develops an integrated system of background screening products that serve private corporations and government entities. The company offers packaging, applicant scoring, customer-defined user permissions and work flow, results routing, notifications and billing options.

“Asurint is proud to become a myTalentLink preferred provider,” President Gregg Gay said in the press release. “We share a common commitment to best-in-class technology solutions and superior service. We continue to develop integrated technology solutions to improve customer value while focusing on our core strengths.

“myTalentLink’s customers benefit with increased flexibility in accessing Asurint’s full capabilities,” Gay added. “Asurint customers benefit by accessing our services and solutions through myTalentLink’s applicant tracking platform – allowing for a faster, more efficient on boarding process. myTalentLink is a first-class solution for Asurint customers looking to implement a full service applicant tracking system.”