How Employers Can Benefit from the Stimulus Package
1 comment March 9th, 2009
The Rockford area has a great opportunity in the months ahead to shape what kind of workforce it is going to have in the future.
There has been plenty of debate over the $787 billion economic stimulus package signed recently by President Obama. This much is certain; there is about three million dollars in grant money coming to Winnebago and Boone Counties to provide job training and other assistance to disadvantaged adults, young people and others who have lost their jobs and the business community will have something
to say about how that money is spent.
The downturn in the economy isn’t going to last forever and, even if the bottom line looks pretty bleak, now is the time for employers to think about their workforce needs in the near future. There will be hundreds of people lined up to take advantage of this program and it doesn’t make any sense to train them for jobs that won’t exist when the smoke clears from the recession. We need input from
employers on what specific job skills they will be looking for in potential employees.
For example, if your company is a manufacturer that knows it will need welders or specifically-trained machinists when orders pick up, we should be encouraging qualified workers to consider short-term training in those areas. Perhaps your company is going to jump into the green energy field and needs to find workers with specific skills to make parts for solar panels or wind turbines. Maybe your
company is in need of workers with advanced computer skills. Now is the time for jobseekers to get that training and the stimulus money from Washington can help pay for it.
In addition, there are training programs available to companies through The Workforce Connection for both new and existing employees that can be customized to meet the specific needs of participating companies, with limited paperwork and red tape, utilizing on-the-job training and, in some cases, with grant funds picking up much of the cost.
A portion of the funding coming from Washington is being earmarked for youth programs, specifically summer jobs and job training for eligible young people between the ages of 14 and 24. If we hope to put a few hundred kids to work this summer, we will need help from employers, schools, faith-based organizations and other non-profit agencies.
The original idea for this article was to discuss what people who have lost their jobs should be doing. The advice we offer at The Workforce Connection is to take advantage of all the help that is available. There are services available at our offices in Rockford and Belvidere that include career counseling, workshops and classes that cover things like resumes, job applications and interviewing tips.
And thanks to the stimulus package, there is going to be money available for training should you decide to follow a new career pathway.
The success of the economic stimulus locally is really dependent upon how the business community and jobseekers seize this opportunity to move forward.
For more information, the best place to start is our website at www.theworkforceconnection.org
Article by By John Strandin, The Workforce Connection
