Funds would match job training with business needs

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John Perez calls himself a success story.

After he was laid off from his job at an Omaha printing company in 2010, he found his way to a job training program, enrolled in welding classes and, before he knew it, he had a job in an industry with a perennial need for skilled workers, welding brackets at Distefano Technology & Manufacturing.

"My goal the whole time was to find a good job at the end of this, and that happened," he said.

But that story isn't common enough, as businesses with jobs to offer — in a time when plenty of people need work — report that they often can't find the right people.

President Barack Obama thinks the situation is holding back the economic recovery enough that he's ready to spend $8 billion to fix it. On Monday, in a speech at a Virginia community college, the president said he has a solution — a plan that's being watched closely by several organizations in the Midlands.

As he outlined his $3.8 trillion budget proposal, Obama talked about job training. He said community colleges should be at the forefront in the effort to get more people ready for work in available jobs — and in turn, make businesses more productive and successful. To better align business needs with skilled workers, Obama proposes funding to train 2 million workers.

The Community College to Career Fund would pay for programs focused on fast-growing jobs and up-to-date skill training, and would pay for performance — supporting programs that were most successful at placing people in permanent jobs.

Local education and workforce leaders said those are the kind of efforts already in place — and in need of expansion.

"No longer are you coming to college just to explore," said Randy Schmailzl, president of Metropolitan Community College. "You're coming to college for a reason. And that's to get a job."

On the business side, employers are well-aware of the skill gap, said Andrew Rainbolt, workforce development coordinator for the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. He works as a liaison between the business community and training programs and hears the same thing over and over again: "Even on an entry level, they can't find folks with skills."

Just about everyone involved in area job training programs acknowledges that the system can be confusing. In most cases, there's federal money that's funneled through one of a handful of state programs, then portioned out at the local level and administered by government or nonprofit agencies who then contract with public or private colleges. There are separate pots of money for low-income job seekers, for people who have been laid off, for young people, for veterans, for people with disabilities.

And there's no catch-all definition for a job training program. Some offer specialized training in a particular industry — job-specific skills for welders or call center workers or dental assistants. In some cases, participants can get a certificate or a degree. Often, the programs are aimed at what are called "soft" skills: time management, functioning in a professional environment, communication skills.

But when people get matched with the right program, they're often successful.

A snapshot: In the Omaha area, a nonprofit group called Heartland Workforce Solutions oversees the local allocation of money from the federal Workforce Investment Act (currently $1.15 million each for adults and youth workers and $900,000 for people left jobless by layoffs or plant closures). Heartland turns over the on-the-ground operations to Goodwill Industries.

The most recent data available, from June through September of last year, showed that nearly 69 percent of participants in the adult programs were employed, along with 84 percent of the displaced workers. About 60 percent of the youth participants — ages 16 to 21 —were employed or attending school.

Across the state line, job seekers who received training at Iowa Western Community College — with the help of the same type of federal dollars — had similar results last summer. About 60 percent of adult participants and displaced workers had found jobs.

Program coordinators said getting those numbers higher will depend on a few factors.

First, there's the issue of aiming the instructors and resources and participants in the right direction.

That means putting more of an emphasis on industries that are chronically in need of workers, like welding and health care and information technology. It also means colleges have to keep up with the latest technology in every industry, said Mark Stanley, Iowa Western's executive director of economic and workforce development.

"What we've seen is that the requirements are changing: Industries need more of the high-skilled people as they invest more in machinery and equipment and get more sophisticated," he said.

Schmailzl, at Metro, said that's one reason the additional money could be particularly useful. He said the college wants to help turn out qualified workers for local businesses but often lacks the tools to do it.

"We've not had the luxury of an abundance of money to build new buildings, and I think part of this (budget proposal) is to infuse money for buildings and equipment," he said.

He noted that the college's renovation of buildings for its health careers program helped boost enrollment in that area from 60 to 240 students.

Dennis Baack, the executive director of the Nebraska Community College Association, said all of the institutions his group represents have business and industry advisory groups that keep them up to speed on their needs. Additional resources, he said, would be best used to bolster those type of programs.

"No doubt we have programs in the state that match up with what they're talking about," he said.

Many programs increasingly are putting employers in leadership roles and paying more attention to their needs.

Heartland Workforce Solutions is careful to ensure that most people are on a realistic path toward jobs that exist. Program director Shirley Carlson said at least 50 percent of the jobs her groups provide training for must be classified as high-wage, high-skill and high-demand. To figure that out, they talk to employers frequently and monitor local hiring trends.

"We look closely at what's going on in the local area," she said. "If we're going to spend the federal funds, we want to make sure there's a job on the other end."

Carlson's organization also is in the planning stages of a new program that will offer industry-specific training in two big areas for jobs: health care and transportation distribution and logistics. The group has more than a dozen businesses on board already.

Employers say they're ready to get involved.

Derek Leathers, president and chief operating officer of Sarpy County-based trucking firm Werner Enterprises, said companies like his would benefit from more drivers being able to get training before they turn up looking for a job.

Driver training can be long and expensive; drivers have to complete a Werner program after the training they receive elsewhere. Leathers said it would be easier to find good drivers if the applicant pool was larger.

"In our opinion, there ought to be more focus and more funding at the community college level and school level," he said.

For now, local officials say they're waiting to see if the funds materialize and, if they do, how they'll be distributed.

Republicans already have struck back against Obama's budget proposals and their impact on the deficit, and it's unlikely that budget disputes will be resolved until after the November election.

At Iowa Western, there's no waiting list, but only because program organizers do not advertise the ability to help businesses with training. There's always more demand than money to go around, said Mary Warren, director of workforce development for the college.

"If we really marketed our program, we would be disappointing a lot of potential candidates."

Contact the writer:
402-444-1543, erin.golden@owh.com

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