Connecticut's most comprehensive job site
for opportunities across the state.

A company is sharing a new platform to screen for people applying to jobs in Connecticut.

Employment Screening Resources – a nationwide background screening firm accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners – has announced the development of the “ESR Assured ComplianceSM” process that allows employers to automatically comply with federal and state laws governing employment screening background checks through the company’s online paperless Applicant Generated Report (AGR) system that is constantly updated with required changes in hiring and employment regulations. (more…)

Cigna has announced a company-wide initiative to hire for Connecticut jobs.

Cigna has joined Hero Health Hire, a coalition of companies and other health care concerns that are making an effort to employing wounded veterans.

Hero Health Hire includes companies, associations and hospitals from across the spectrum of the health care industry. Together, they collectively employ hundreds of thousands of workers and have committed to help veterans find and retain jobs.
(more…)

A newly launched website will connect veterans with Connecticut jobs.

Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman and Labor Commissioner Glenn Marshall have announced the launch of a website that will connect job-seeking military veterans and employers interested in hiring them.
(more…)

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is helping to connect veterans with Connecticut jobs.

The senator came together with veterans and over 70 participants from large firms, small businesses, and state and municipal agencies, to discuss best practices and strategies for hiring and retaining veterans.

Blumenthal co-hosted the event with United Rentals, the largest equipment rental company in the world, who has an active veteran employment recruitment program. Additional participants included Pfizer, Merritt, and Travelers Insurance. (more…)

A new merger could potentially create some much-needed jobs in Connecticut.

Caris & Company, an equity research, sales and trading firm based in San Diego, California, and M.M. Dillon & Co., an investment banking and private equity partnership based in Stamford, Connecticut, today announced a business combination. The combined firm, to be named Caris Dillon, will create an integrated investment bank with the expertise and focus to provide bulge bracket capital market services to growth sector small and mid-cap companies.

The combination will be structured with each firm owning 50 percent of the new entity, and is subject to FINRA approval. Caris Dillon also named Michiel C. McCarty, a 35 year Wall Street investment banking veteran and current Chairman and CEO of M.M. Dillon & Co., and Darren Caris, current Chairman and CEO of Caris & Company, as Co-CEO’s to run the investment bank.

The combination is anticipated to occur early in the New Year after FINRA approval, and a coincident capital injection from a collection of industry veterans.

The planned capital increase is designed to allow Caris Dillon the ability to underwrite on a lead and sole managed basis most of the transactions needed by the growth companies the two organizations follow, plus those new companies attracted by the growth focus of the new integrated investment bank. In preparation for the combination, both organizations have been taking advantage of the current downturn on Wall Street to add experienced talent to their organizations in selected sectors.

Caris and Dillon have been operating under a strategic alliance since March, with coordination of hiring and strategic moves in addition to normal client development. This six month alliance led to the discussions that culminated in the agreed combination of the two firms.

Darren Caris, Co-CEO said in a statement, “I am very excited about the planned combination, which I view as world class research meeting world class banking with the growth sectors the beneficiaries. I have worked now with the Dillon people for over six months and firmly believe they have the same interests as the Caris firm, to provide the ethical and competent framework needed for capital market access for growth companies. I have worked hard to build Caris over the last eight years, as have the Dillon people, and with the merger we will both fill our respective needs in a way that neither of us could accomplish alone. It is truly a win win deal for our firms and ultimately a winning one for our clients.“

A group of leaders gathered for an event to discuss Connecticut jobs.

Alpha®, a national Veterans Disability Advocacy group, hosted a Hire Our Veterans Symposium at Alpha National Headquarters, Shelton, Connecticut on September 26, 2011.

Connecticut state leaders, including State Senator Carlo Leone, Senate Chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee, and Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, were among distinguished speakers who addressed private-sector employers interested in hiring veterans. (more…)

If you’re looking for Connecticut jobs, you’ve got the hardest task in the nation, according to a new survey from Manpower.

The worst area of all for finding a job this fall is Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.

Approximately 12 percent of companies surveyed in that area said they will be hiring in the fall, a sharp decrease compared to other bright spots in the nation.

Nineteen percent expect to reduce their staff levels, and sixty-nine percent expect to maintain their current workforce. This yields a net employment outlook of -7 percent for the Connecticut metropolis.

ManpowerGroup surveyed more than 18,000 employers in 100 metropolitan areas to find out who’s hiring, who’s firing and who plans to maintain their current staff levels in the fourth quarter of 2011, October through December.

Nationwide, only 16 percent of employers say they plan on hiring in the fall. About 11 percent said they will be decreasing their employee roster.

“The numbers are not going in the right direction this quarter, and they are not as robust as we would have liked them to be,” says Melanie Holmes, a vice president at ManpowerGroup. “Employers are hesitant about hiring in this economic climate. They are remaining guarded, and that is reflected in these results.”

Elsewhere in the nation, Las Vegas jobs are also struggling, the survey found.

The National Employment Law Project has joined Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) and Hank Johnson (GA-4) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) to help the unemployment fight for their rights to obtain Connecticut jobs and jobs all over the nation.

The coalition gathered 250,000 petition signatures calling for an end to hiring policies that discriminate against the unemployed, and to call for passage of the Fair Employment Opportunity Act. The bill, also included in President Obama’s American Jobs Act, would prohibit exclusion of the unemployed from job openings. The petition signatures were gathered by USAction, Change.org, ColorofChange.org and CREDO Action and represent Americans from across the country. (more…)

Pepperidge Farm this week broke ground on a huge new facility that will house a research center and will create jobs in Connecticut.

Campbell President and Chief Executive Officer Denise Morrison and Pepperidge Farm President Pat Callaghan were joined by Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia and other state and local officials to celebrate the commencement of the project.
(more…)

C Products Defense is transitioning jobs, a move that will result in the loss of Connecticut manufacturing jobs.

The company has moved its manufacturing operation and distribution arm from Connecticut to Manatee County where the company plans to add 100 employees in the next five years, according to Sharon Hillstrom, interim
executive director of the Manatee Economic Development Council (EDC).

The move means Florida manufacturing jobs will be added.

C Products Defense (CPD) uses robotic welding units to manufacture ammunition magazines for law enforcement, military and U.S. rifle manufacturers.

The Manatee Board of County Commissioners approved $100,000 in performance-based incentives for CPD. To qualify for the incentives, the company must hire 100 employees over the next five years at an average wage that is 15 percent higher than the county average.

The county’s rapid response permitting program expedited CPD’s move to an existing 19,600-square-foot facility in south Manatee County. CPD’s sister company, LCJ Wholesale (http://www.lcjwholesalestore.com/), also has located in Manatee County and will distribute CPD’s magazines along with other manufacturers’ products.

“The state has proven its commitment to manufacturers moving to Florida, where the advantages for expansion and growth are exceptional. The state and Manatee County understand the importance of manufacturing companies locating in Florida,” said CPD President Larry Panka, Sr.

Two members of the existing management team have relocated from Connecticut, but other positions will be filled locally. CPD will hire 15 employees in Manatee County this year and 35 more in 2012. New jobs will range from assembly to management.

Job candidates may inquire via email to jwalls@suncoastworkforce.org. LCJ Wholesale also will add employees over time, Panka said. Both businesses give hiring preference to military veterans.

The company’s continuing investment in robotic welding units represents “a commitment to quality and our corporate goal to remain the leader in the industry,” said Panka. CPD plans to become ISO certified within the next few months.

“C Products Defense’s precision manufacturing business is a welcome addition to the defense and homeland security industry sector that already thrives in Manatee County,” Hillstrom said. “The company’s growth and commitment to sourcing its production needs within Florida will stimulate opportunities for local suppliers, which should lead to even more job creation.”

The EDC assisted the company in site selection and applying for economic development incentives. The EDC also worked with county government on facility permitting and connected CPD to Suncoast Workforce for employee recruitment and training resources.

“The EDC helped us with employee training, site selection, the many incentive programs, shortening the interview process for new hires, and much more,” Panka said. “The EDC and Suncoast Workforce personnel have made our move here seamless.”

Panka also credited Community Bank & Company for understanding CPD’s business and facilitating financing for the relocation.

“The C Products Defense project demonstrates how performance-based incentives through Manatee County Government can accelerate job creation in our community,” said Ed Hunzeker, Manatee County administrator. A list of Manatee County’s economic development incentives is available at www.mymanatee.org/econ_dev.