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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-6871
Grants totaling $1.6 million are being provided to projects
in four states to continue for another year highly successful programs to train
dislocated workers for high paying jobs in information technology. The grants
were announced today by President Bill Clinton and Secretary of Labor Alexis M.
Herman.
“We must be able to re-tool our
workers to succeed in the technology-intensive jobs of the 21st century,”
the President said. “These grants, and others like them, will help our
workers into high-wage, secure jobs, and keep America competitive in the global
economy.”
“We must invest in workers’
skills, so they have the tools to adapt to new technologies, and make change
work for them, not against them,” Secretary Herman added. “All
Americans must have opportunities for lifelong learning, so that they can be
equipped with the skills to find and hold good jobs with rising incomes and
good benefits throughout their lives.”
These demonstration projects for High Wage Job
Opportunities for Dislocated Workers are in Dallas, Texas; Clovis, Calif.;
Waltham, Mass.; and Southfield, Mich. Each project will receive $400,000.
In Dallas, Richland College received a $750,000
demonstration grant in 1996 to develop its USA STAR (Skills Training and
Reemployment) project to prepare workers for skill shortages in the Dallas
area’s information technology job market. A primary focus is placing
workers in high-paying jobs. So far, 97.3 percent of those completing the
program have found jobs, with their new salaries averaging $15.72 an hour. Some
101 people have been enrolled.
With the new grant, Richland College will train an
additional 50 people and upgrade the curriculum to include new technologies.
New participants also will attend classes to develop the skills needed to adapt
to change.
In Waltham, an initial demonstration grant of $452,500 was
provided in 1996 to the Software Council Fellowship Program, Inc., which
provides internships with small and mid-size software companies. The new grant
will serve an additional 75 dislocated workers, targeting those who previously
held high-wage jobs. The program so far has had an 82 percent placement rate
with an average starting salary of $23.50 per hour.
The new grant will allow an additional 75 people to
participate and will include additional training in job seeking skills. As part
of the project, the council also will develop opportunities for non-technical
professionals in the software industry.
In Southfield, Operation ABLE will serve an additional 75
over-50 mid-level managers who have been laid off. Under a $410,000 original
grant given in 1996, Operation ABLE enrolled 91 displaced workers. Of those
completing the program, 85 percent have been reemployed at an average starting
salary of $19.55 per hour.
Operation ABLE concentrates on providing computer literacy
training for older workers and the counseling and training needed to make the
transition from their previous employment to new industries, to develop job
seeking skills, and to counter age discrimination. ABLE’s work has been
supported by a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to open a Career
Resilience Center.
In Clovis, laid off workers with demonstrated graphics
design skills, many of them from the aerospace industry, are retrained for jobs
in the multimedia design industry. The Economic Development Network (ED>NET)
of the State Center Community College District received a $750,000 grant in
1996 to develop the curriculum for an accelerated 15-week program and to train
60 workers. With the new grant, ED>NET will expand the program to three new
community college sites and enroll 90 new participants. These workers are
finding new jobs in an industry which specializes in interactive videos,
special effects and animation.
“These projects are demonstrating that laid-off
workers can be retrained for new jobs paying as much or more as their old
jobs,” Herman said.
These grants are authorized under Title III of the Job
Training Partnership Act (JTPA) for dislocated workers who are unlikely to
return to their previous industry or occupation.
(Editors: The attached page provides additional
information about these projects and the names and phone numbers of local
contacts).
This information will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202)219-5577. TDD Message Phone:
1-800-326-2577.
Operation ABLE is a nonprofit agency which specializes in
helping older workers become career resilient by acquiring new skills,
evaluating their long-term employability and countering job discrimination.
With the new grant, ABLE will help 75 high-wage dislocated mid-level managers
gain computer-related skills and an understanding of information technology
necessary for reemployment in the Detroit area. A mentoring program with the
Human Resources Assn. Of Southwest Michigan will provide help with interviewing
and job search skills and the American Society of Employers will provide other
training resources.
ED>NET has developed an accelerated model curriculum and
training program to respond to skill shortages in the multimedia industry.
Under the new grant, the program will be expanded to three additional sites and
the feasibility of replicating it at other sites will be studied. Participants
are selected in part based on demonstrated graphic arts ability.
The Software Council Fellowship is supported by 300
companies in the Boston area. The internships offered by the council allow
dislocated workers, especially older workers displaced from long-term
employment in other industries, an opportunity to learn the work culture and
skills characteristic of the software industry. The rapid pace of change and
entrepreneurial culture often require new skills and adjustments. Most of the
dislocated workers completing the program have found employment in the
industry.
Richland College focused its program on skills shortages in
the Dallas high-tech market. With the new grant, the curriculum will be updated
and all participants will take the Zenger-Miller Leadership 2000 course, a
program used by businesses nationwide to train workers in ways to accept and
adapt to change. The program prepares them for working in the rapidly changing
environment of information technology.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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