Texas Workforce Commission Uses IBM S/390 to “HIRE TEXAS”
Powerful IBM Server Runs Texas Employment Web Site
Somers, N.Y (December 09, 1999) – The Texas Workforce Commission is harnessing the power of an IBM S/390 server to run “Hire Texas” (http://www.twc.state.tx.us), an online public job search system for the state of Texas.
The Hire Texas system is designed to help facilitate the search between prospective employers and more than one million job applicants. The Web site enables employers to post openings and allows applicants to apply for openings online. Employers and applicants are then “matched” based on specified criteria. In addition to job matching, the Hire Texas site is also linked to Labor Market Information, an Unemployment Insurance database and the Workforce Information System of Texas where applicants can find additional information.
“This is one of the most ambitious projects we’ve ever attempted. This IBM S/390 system gives us the ability to change the way we deliver services in the field,” said Maury Samuels, director of Information Technology Solutions, TWC. “We chose S/390 because it is the best technology on the market that is robust enough to meet our needs.”
In addition to Hire Texas, TWC also runs an Employer Extranet on the S/390. The Extranet allows employers to look up information on their TWC accounts and order services. “Utilizing S/390 for our intranet has saved us more than $90,000 this year alone,” said Samuels.
The new IBM S/390 server and its associated solutions replace a 25-year-old manual process. In the past, TWC employees solicited job orders from businesses and manually entered them into a database. To apply for positions, applicants had to go to local government offices to fill out applications. The new system allows TWC employees to focus on helping Texans find jobs and provide other services, rather than handling paperwork.
“More and more customers are turning to the S/390 to run new Web solutions because of its ability to provide continuous, scalable and secure access to information,” said Rich Lechner, director of e-business for IBM S/390. “This is all about helping people to find jobs, and the combination of the Internet and the S/390 server provide TWC with a powerful solution to accomplish that faster and with better service.”
Source: IBM