New initiative
New initiative
As unemployment remains at double-digit levels and economists cautiously point to signs the recession may be winding down, community colleges across the state are launching new programs to try to keep the recovery on track and get those who have lost their jobs back to work as quickly as possible.
JobsNOW, a program announced by Gov. Beverly Perdue earlier this year, is a multipronged approach to reducing unemployment using federal stimulus money. “The key part of JobsNOW is for those who have been laid off,” said Sheila Ruhland, vice president for instruction at Rockingham Community College (RCC) in Wentworth.
RCC and other North Carolina community colleges play a role in JobsNOW through the 12 in 6 Worker Training Initiative, designed to offer training in one of 12 career fields that will take up to six months to complete. Graduates of JobsNOW programs receive the Career Readiness Certificate, which details specific competencies and skill levels.
Classes will begin this month and next at GTCC, where 12 in 6 will run parallel to the Quick Jobs with a Future program.
“We’ve been running Quick Jobs for several years, and we have good experience with short-term training,” said Brian Haderlie, dean of GTCC’s Business and Industry Services.
To determine how to get the most bang for the JobsNOW buck, GTCC worked with the Greensboro-High Point-Guilford County Workforce Development Board to decide what programs to offer at the school’s campuses in Jamestown, High Point and Greensboro. GTCC has started four new job-training programs and expanded two classes to meet the demand for quick training.
If people qualify for the training, the work force board will see that the federal stimulus money is available, Haderlie said. “They are basically committed to provide and fund close to all the students that will be participating.”
Resources are available at sites across the community to get qualified job seekers started with 12 in 6, including local N.C. Employment Security Commission offices, the Guilford County Department of Social Services and the JobLink Career Center.
From there, they can take their pick of paths in new or expanded training programs. GTCC’s short-term welding course will be expanding at the Jamestown campus, and the school is offering additional training in Jamestown and High Point for its nursing assistant I program.
It is also providing new training in industrial maintenance, computer controlled machining, green weatherization and medical administrative assistant work at its Greensboro campus.
Industrial maintenance is “a pretty extensive class,” Haderlie said. It covers work on electronics, hydraulics, pneumatics and hardware, including environmentally friendly ways to do such work.
“Once the economy turns around, there’s gonna be a great deal of need for maintenance people,” he said.
And while the 12 in 6 program emphasizes rapid training, it doesn’t skimp on the details, Haderlie added.
“Instead of just being trained in one specific area, there will be a more broad training,” he said. “Instead of just HVAC, there will be 15 different topics in industrial maintenance.”
The machining class will teach skills in blueprint reading, machine technology, basic computer-assisted design, and turning and milling, Haderlie said.
The 12 in 6 medical administrative assistant class will offer more in-depth instruction than its Quick Jobs counterpart, where workers are trained in 90 days or less.
“You have much broader skills, much deeper experience and training than with Quick Jobs,” Haderlie said.
GTCC has hired new adjunct or part-time instructors to teach the 12 in 6 classes, and is hiring a full-time staff member for a JobsNOW position. RCC is also hiring part-time instructors, as well as a full-time staff member for recruitment and job placement, a one-year contract position, according to Ruhland.
Like GTCC, RCC looked at regional employment needs before deciding which courses to offer through 12 in 6. It will begin offering classes this fall in customer relations and warehouse technician training, followed in the spring by law enforcement, nursing assistant and phlebotomist classes. Before receiving JobsNOW funding, RCC was only able to offer the phlebotomist classes starting in the fall, Ruhland said.
School officials worked to focus on training that would help people land decent-paying jobs.
“We took a look at where hourly rate salaries were going to be beyond minimum wage,” Ruhland said.
Contact Eddie Huffman at 373-7335 or eddie.huffman@news-record.com.
JobLink career centers 091309
JobLink career centers in Greensboro and High Point can help the unemployed determine whether they qualify for community college classes funded by JobsNOW, a program announced by Gov. Beverly Perdue earlier this year that has allowed schools to create new quick job-training programs or expand upon current offerings.
Nancy Sidelinger Special Sections PhotographerFind out more
■ In Guilford County:
• For more information about the programs at GTCC, call 334-4822, ext. 4213, or visit www.gtcc.edu.
• To find out if you qualify for funding through JobsNOW, call the JobLink Career Center at 373-5922 in Greensboro or
885-8826 in High Point. You can also register online at www.guilfordjoblink.com/jobsnow.cfm.
■ In Rockingham County:
• For more information about the programs at Rockingham Community College, contact Carolyn Loftis, human resources development program coordinator, at 342-4261 or loftisc@rockinghamcc.edu, or visit www.rockinghamcc.edu and click on “JobsNOW” on the right side of the screen.
• To find out if you qualify for funding through JobsNOW, call the Rockingham County JobLink Career Center at 634-5600.
■ Job seekers may also find information through their local N.C. Employment Security Commission or Department of Social Services offices.
Wondering what job fairs and other career-related events are coming up in the Triad? Visit www.triadcareers.com/tj/events.
If you know of an event that is not listed, contact Patrick Collins with this information by calling 412-5934 or e-mailing patrick.collins@news-record.com.
