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Oklahoma City Jobs Are Hiding in Plain Sight · The 405 Payroll

• 0:13
  Why are job boards so quiet right now in Oklahoma City when local economic reports
• 0:20
  show over a hundred major companies actively expanding here?
• 0:24
  Wait, uh, really?
• 0:26
  Because if you look at the major job sites, it feels like...
• 0:30
  I don't know, absolute crickets.
• 0:32
  That is the disconnect.
• 0:35
  According to data from the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, there are actually 121
• 0:41
  companies considering relocation or expansion in the region right now.
• 0:45
  And about 70 percent of those are in manufacturing and logistics.
• 0:50
  Seventy percent?
• 0:52
  So why aren't those jobs showing up on my phone screen when I scroll through
• 0:55
  listings?
• 0:57
  Because a lot of these local regional employers are skipping online application
• 1:02
  portals entirely.
• 1:03
  They are going straight to direct, in person walk in hiring events through the
• 1:08
  Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, or OESC, at places like Oklahoma Works.
• 1:15
  Ah, man.
• 1:16
  So if you are only filling out web forms, you are basically yelling into a void
• 1:21
  while the actual hiring is happening in a room across town.
• 1:25
  Exactly.
• 1:26
  If you want to jump from a sixteen dollar an hour survival wage to twenty two or
• 1:31
  even twenty eight dollars an hour, bypassing those online algorithmic filters is
• 1:37
  huge.
• 1:38
  Recruiters are doing on site interviews and issuing offers for immediate warehouse
• 1:43
  and assembly spots on the day of the event.
• 1:46
  Okay, but, er, let me jump in here.
• 1:49
  Back when I was working early morning radio, I was juggling crazy shifts,
• 1:53
  barely paying rent, constantly applying online after hours.
• 1:57
  If you are working hourly right now, taking a Tuesday morning off to go to a hiring
• 2:02
  fair means losing pay you might desperately need.
• 2:06
  How does someone realistically pull that off?
• 2:09
  That is a very real barrier.
• 2:11
  The trick is targeting the specific community events that offer multi hour windows
• 2:17
  or late afternoon slots, and coming prepared with printed resumes and primary
• 2:22
  documents so you can complete onboarding on the spot instead of coming back twice.
• 2:27
  So let us say you get in the room, but you want to make that leap up to twenty five
• 2:32
  dollars or more an hour long term.
• 2:35
  How do you scale up without taking on a mountain of student debt?
• 2:39
  That is where the fast track certifications come in.
• 2:43
  Metro Tech has partnered with the Central Oklahoma Workforce Innovation Board,
• 2:47
  or COWIB, to offer short term career training programs.
• 2:51
  And what does that actually cost an eligible working adult?
• 2:55
  For eligible applicants, literally zero dollars out of pocket.
• 2:59
  Tuition grant funding covers the entire cost for specific high demand technical and
• 3:05
  trade tracks.
• 3:07
  Zero dollars.
• 3:09
  Okay, that sounds fantastic, but what about keeping the lights on while you are in
• 3:15
  class?
• 3:16
  If you cut back hours to study, rent does not wait.
• 3:20
  Right, and that is why you have to pair upskilling with existing local safety nets.
• 3:26
  Organizations like the Community Action Agency offer short term utility assistance
• 3:31
  and free financial coaching specifically designed to stabilize household bills while
• 3:37
  you transition careers.
• 3:39
  So you use the emergency utility support to keep your monthly overhead low,
• 3:44
  maybe pick up flexible weekend gig work for steady cash flow,
• 3:48
  and clear space to get certified.
• 3:50
  Precisely.
• 3:52
  It builds a bridge instead of asking you to jump off a cliff.
• 3:56
  Alright, so if someone is listening right now on their break and wants to get this
• 4:01
  moving today, what is the single best action step?
• 4:05
  Call or visit Metro Tech's EMPOWER navigation team before the end of the day today.
• 4:11
  Ask them directly to check your funding eligibility for upcoming skill tracks.
• 4:15
  It takes ten minutes and could change your whole wage trajectory.
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  Ten minutes to start moving toward twenty five an hour.
• 4:23
  Definitely worth making the call.