With the unemployment rate running at 16.6 percent in the county, the need to retrain, go back to school, and polish up resumes is greater than ever.

Getting Ready To Work is slated to run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 1 at the Wendell Mitchell Conference Center on the LBWCC campus in Greenville. Admission is free.

Organizers believe next Tuesday’s “Getting Ready To Work” event will provide much of the assistance and information needed by local job hunters.

It is more important than ever for people to learn there are resources to help them,” said Ricky McLaney, director of the Butler County Commission for Economic Development, sponsors, along with the Butler County Human Resource Manager’s Association of the daylong event. “We’ve had some things in place before, but this offers them a whole day devoted to finding employment, re-training and find dollars needed for re-training and education.”

Among those agencies and programs to be represented next week are ADECA and its Mobile Career Center; AIDT Training; Alabama Career Center; Butler County Extension Office; LBW Community College; Reid State Technical College; Manpower, Inc., and Resume Writing Assistance.

Natalie Langford, manager of Manpower, Inc., said her office will offer a number of strategies for success to job seekers.

“We will have information on writing resumes, tips on getting references, information on researching companies, looking for your ideal job and making career transitions,” Langford said. “We will plug people into Internet search sites to show them where to go and what to look for in terms of job hunting.”

The Alabama Career Center will offer a variety of information on getting back to work along with information on the services offered through their office.

The Mobile Career Center will give participants a chance to utilize their computers to work on their resumes.

“We want people to realize there are a lot of resources out there,” said Greenville mayor Dexter McLendon. “I think it’s important we don’t just sit back and say, ‘Oh well, unemployment is high because of the economy;’ we have to get out there and do something. This is a tougher time than we’ve ever seen before, but I also know we are in a better position to attract industries to our community than, say, 10 years ago.”

McLendon said he was “excited” about Tuesday’s event.

“I look forward to meeting people and finding out what their needs and expectations are and helping get them employed. Their input will be so helpful to us in getting out there and finding more jobs,” he said.