Not just an unemployment office
Program allows businesses to gain training grants
By SHARON KERR Staff Writer

Workforce Solutions of Deep East Texas isn't the unemployment office, as some people call it, according to Arlie Reynolds, business service specialist. Enhanced employment office might be more accurate.

The Workforce aims much higher than merely filling jobs. Their goals include creating a well-trained and skilled workforce, which leads to new jobs and higher wages, which ultimately aids the economic development of the whole 12-county area of Deep East Texas.

Small business owners may not realize that's not just hype- there's cash available to make this happen: training grants for up to $5,000 are available to businesses and organizations with as few as three employees.

Reynolds, Jennifer Gobert and Kim Brown are part of a team encouraging local small businesses to take advantage of training partnerships The Workforce offers.

Doug Williford & Son, now run by son Billy Williford, has been around since 1958, but the air-conditioning and heating business has changed considerably in 50 years.

Williford didn't know he could qualify for a grant until his men worked on the air-conditioner at The Workforce Center at 710 South Wheeler.

The men came back and told Williford's office manager, Melissa Osburn, "Hey, did you know they'll pay you back if you send us to school?"

Sure enough, Osburn said, they obtained a grant that will send Williford and Richard Lundquist to a generator technician school in Wisconsin, and they still have enough left to send Williford's men to Houston for Lennox air conditioner training.

"It was simple to apply," Osburn said, "and simply awesome to know this was available for a small business like us to keep our education up.

"This kind of training is next to impossible for a small business owner to afford. It makes us better able to satisfy our customers and keep up with the technology."

Training grants

Gone are the days when a mechanic slapped tires on a car or tuned an engine by ear. Now mechanics use lasers for alignment, and onboard computers talk to shop computers that consult with factory computers for a diagnostic analysis before relaying instructions to the "mechanic."

The Incumbent Worker Training Grant is a complicated name for a simple concept: these days, businesses need to constantly upgrade and update their workers' skills to be competitive. Small employers don't always have the resources to keep up, and rural areas often face the greatest obstacles to getting advanced training.

Businesses with three to 50 employees can receive $5,000 per employer, and businesses with more than 50 can receive up to $10,000.

So far 15 employers in Jasper, Newton and Sabine counties have used more than $83,000 to train 176 employees, but Reynolds isn't satisfied.

"We have the opportunity to do so much more," Reynolds said. "People need to know this is available."

The grants can reimburse employers for any kind of training that gives employees new or enhanced skills, or leads to job retention or to increased business productivity. The training must go beyond what the employee has already received or would receive as a normal part of employee orientation.

The grant can pay for such things as tuition, fees, instructors, books or other training supplies, and travel costs including mileage, meals and lodging.

Lakes Area Hospice recently sent two people, social worker Molly Davis and chaplain Mike Neel, to a palliative care conference in Albuquerque, NM, with the help of a Workforce grant.

The two hospice employees attended educational sessions covering end of life issues, and returned with a new network of colleagues and information to better serve the community.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Charles Shofner said Jasper County officials used a Workforce grant to attend the annual state convention for commissioners and judges in Galveston.

"We have enough employees to qualify for a $10,000 grant, and we can use this throughout the county for training clerks, sheriff's deputies, any kind of training," Shofner said.

Carlene Womack, executive director of ETHAN (East Texas Health Access Network) said two employees benefitted from the training grants. One took a computer course to upgrade her accounting skills in Houston, and the other went to Tennessee for a refresher course in CareScope, a program that tracks referrals and follow up care management.

Creation of new jobs

Sometimes it isn't about an existing employee taking a class to update her skills; it's about learning a whole new skill.

For example, advances in the medical field are coming at an astonishing rate, so training in the latest technology may bring new jobs and services to the community.

In Sabine County, training hospital employees in radiology increases services available to patients and increases revenue for the hospital, benefiting the entire community.

Reynolds says the Incumbent Worker Training Grants can help with training workers who need to get licensed or have a certification updated; with keeping workers current on changes in programming or technology; or with any training that prepares workers for advancement and helps the growth and productivity of the business.

That's not all

The Incumbent Worker Grant is one of many ways The Workforce Centers can help employers and employees. They also offer customized job training, on-thejob training reimbursement, and several tax-credit programs designed to encourage training people to become productive wage earners.

"I hear people say there are no jobs in Jasper,: Reynolds said, "but we have almost 200 job openings right now.

"We just need people to know more about what we have to offer," Reynolds said.

The Workforce is located