Missouri to help former Hostess employees prepare for new careers

LENEXA, Kan. - On November 16, Hostess Brands Inc. decided to liquidate its operations nationwide. That move left more than 400 employees in the Kansas City area without jobs.

“It was rather sudden for employees to lose their jobs, and to be locked out suddenly without much notice to plan accordingly,” said Steve Dempsey, state rapid response coordinator with the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

The DED is now stepping in, sending its rapid response team to help employees get back into the job market as soon as possible.

“We want to respond in a rapid way, to deploy the resources that can help people get back into good quality jobs,” Dempsey said.

Through workforce meetings, employees will receive assistance filing for unemployment. They will also be given tools to help them create resumes for interviews. Many employees will also be introduced to options that could send them back to school for free.

“In most cases, those programs are going to be approved for funding under the Workforce Investment Act,” Dempsey said.

Most importantly, all the resources will offer employees the satisfaction that others are looking out for them -- and their careers.

“They want to know that they're not in on this themselves. They're not in this alone. There are others that are experiencing similar circumstances, and that they can learn from each other,” Dempsey said.

For more information on the Hostess meetings, or any of the workforce development career centers around the Kansas City area, go to http://jobs.mo.gov/