Midlands businesses are running out of time to take advantage of a program that can provide them with federal dollars for worker training while putting a dent in the region’s unemployment rate.
The National Emergency Grant, a part of the post-financial crisis federal stimulus package, has already played a big role in saving area jobs while helping to fill others, says Kevin Hill, regional operation manager of the Midlands SC Works Centers.
Unfortunately, Hill says, the program is slated to end on June 30 and is unlikely to be extended.
“I always tell businesses to take advantage of all the workforce-building programs that are out there, and while this obviously isn’t the only program of this kind, I believe it’s been a successful one here in the Midlands,” he says.
“In my opinion, it gives businesses a chances to broaden the pool of potential applicants they might consider without taking on major risks,” Hill explains.
One of the significant challenges people like Hill and his staff have had when it comes to getting the unemployed and underemployed into full employment situations is that the individuals who walk through an SC Works Center door often have plenty of solid work experience, but don’t meet their prospective employer’s requirement that they have one or two years of experience in a given job.
“Thanks to the National Emergency Grant, we can provide the training they need to do those jobs, and for the employer who is willing to accept that training in lieu of the experience requirement they’ve advertised, we’re able to provide them with responsible prospective employees who will work and work hard if given the chance.”
Although the Midlands has fared better than many other parts of the state during the current recession, demand for workforce development services has never been higher, says Reggie Murphy, chairman of the Midlands Workforce Development Board.
The Development Board, created in the late 1990s, is federally-funded but locally controlled and focuses its efforts on Fairfield, Lexington and Richland Counties.
“Prior to the financial crisis, we might have had $500,000 to spend annually, and while there was a lot of need, we’d literally have to knock on doors to give the last $35,000 or so away,” Murphy says. “Nowadays, we get an annual $300,000 and have over a million dollars in requests for funding just to sustain area jobs,” says Murphy, who is also president of Asset Realty in Columbia.
What’s changed? “Well, a couple of things,” Murphy says. “Obviously, since the recession took hold, there are many more companies out there that are just trying to find a way to survive. Then, too, I think we’ve gotten better at getting our message out, and finally, we started seeing more of a focus locally on the development of business clusters, particularly in insurance, technology and alternative energy.
“As that effort heated up, we quickly discovered that there was a knowledge gap in terms what these industries needed and what the workers in the region actually had,” he continues. “And I think that really led to people to gain a better understanding of who we are and what we can do for them. We are not job creators; what we do is help create an environment, in a region, and within the companies themselves, for sustainable job creation.”
“Years ago, when unemployment hovered around 4 ½ percent, we weren’t very sexy,” he says, adding with a chuckle, “Now, I guess we are.”
Both men credit a wide range of partners for the success they seen in local workforce development, particularly institutions like Midlands Technical College, the University of South Carolina, “and a number of private schools and employers,” Murphy says.
In addition to the National Emergency Grant funded programs, Hill and Murphy spearhead efforts to help employers provide on-the-job training of new employees, and promote initiatives like “Quick Jobs,” through which prospective employee can get a “quick” certification in a basic trades skill – in six to nine weeks, rather than the 2 ½ years it might take in a traditional degree program – and the employers would provide additional on-the-job trading with the help of supplemental funding provided by the Workforce Development Board.
Another, sometimes overlooked service Murphy and Hill’s organizations provide is doing work keys assessments of prospective workers. Both men say while scores of jobs are available at any one time in the Midlands, businesses are sometimes afraid to advertise them for fear that in an economic climate defined by high unemployment, they’ll simply be overwhelmed by applicants and unable to efficiently attend to the details of being in business while trying to find just the right candidate. Work Keys is a method of “certifying” applicants based upon the basic comprehension and jobs skills, which are graded “bronze,” “silver” and “gold.” Murphy describes it as a vehicle to help employers “winnow” the field of prospective candidates and offer someone a chance to work without suffering any disruption of their business. Of course, helping businesses find qualified employees is just one part of the workforce development equation.
Another big part of both men’s efforts is providing assistance to dislocated workers. “When we hear a company that employs 20 or more people is closing its doors, we have a rapid response team that actually goes onsite and signs people up for jobs assistance,” Murphy says.
Hill says when it comes to those who have lost their jobs and are looking for another, “the main advice I give them is just not to give up.” “Things appear to slowly be getting better – we’re seeing evidence of that at our centers, although they are still very busy – and I always tell people the key is persistence,” he says. “There are new jobs listed every day. “And as far as employers are concerned, I tell them, please keep posting your jobs, and keep your job listings current and active with us, with local chambers of commerce and anyone else you might list a job with,” he continues. “The other thing I’d say is please be open to suggestions from workforce professionals in your community, because thanks to outsourcing, plant closings and the like, the environment is very different from what it was two, three or four years ago and they have a lot of insights on how to do things,” he says.
Still, Murphy and Hill say there’s reason to be hopeful. In November 2011, the last month for which statistics are currently available, nearly 10,000 people went back to work across the state, and recent economic development announcements throughout the region – like Amazon’s decision to open a distribution center in Lexington County – bode well for many more people going back to work in the near future. “We are seeing a slow, gradual change for the better, but times are still tough for many people,” Hill says. “Even with the gradual employment in our economy, no one should forget that everybody, at every level, can play a part in putting somebody back to work.”