A $400,000 grant could put unemployed in the River Parishes back to work by helping employers fund training programs.
The program would reimburse employers up to 90 percent of a new hire’s salary while that hire is being trained on-site, or pay directly for the employee’s off-site training.
“We really need the employers to jump on board to make this a success,” said Workforce Investment Board director Tommy Scott. “If we have a bunch of people who want jobs but no employers who’ll hire them, it defeats the purpose of the program.”
Scott said his office has begun working with some area companies to set up agreements that would connect the “substantial amount” of resumes that the Workforce Investment Board currently has with job vacancies. The goal is to identify what training requirements are needed for positions at area companies, and then provide the necessary training to the unemployed.
The program is currently focusing on training for “in-demand” industries in the River Parishes. According to Scott, these particularly include operators, welders, engineers, hospitality workers and retail workers.
St. Charles Parish has a 5.9 percent unemployment rate as of August, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national unemployment rate in October was 5.8 percent.
Scott said the money would go to area community colleges, apprenticeship providers, short-term training companies and even the hiring companies themselves, assuming those companies offer in-house training.
The grant amount represents the River Parishes’ portion of $6.1 million awarded to Louisiana by the U.S. Department of labor to help fight unemployment.
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