Disaster jobs program launches throughout Missouri

July 13, 2011 By

Workers who are unable to work due to the floods that occurred in Southeast Missouri or the tornado that struck the Joplin area on May 22 can apply for temporary jobs to restore those communities.

The jobs will focus on clean-up and humanitarian efforts, such as clearing and removing debris. Under the Missouri Disaster Recovery Jobs Program, the first priority will be to employ workers who lost their jobs because of the tornado or floods. Second priority will go to workers who are unemployed for other reasons.

Safety training and equipment will be provided for each worker, in addition to vaccinations or other preventive medical procedures necessary to work in the disaster area.

The following Missouri counties have been approved for Public Assistance:  Barry County, Bollinger County, Butler County, Cape Girardeau County, Carter County, Christian County, Douglas County, Dunklin County, Howell County, Iron County, Jasper County, Madison County, McDonald County, Miller County, Mississippi County, New Madrid County, Newton County, Oregon County, Ozark County, Pemiscot County, Perry County, Polk County, Reynolds County, Ripley County, Saint Francois County, Sainte Genevieve County, Scott County, Shannon County, Stoddard County, Stone County, Taney County, Texas County, Washington County, Wayne County, Webster County, and Wright County.

To apply for a job under the Missouri Disaster Recovery Job Program…

  •  You must be registered to become eligible for the program by going to www.MissouriCareerSource.com. You can register now. This is not an application, but will speed your application process when the time comes.
  • Visit the career centers in the following regions:
    • Central region—Camdenton, Fort Leonard Wood, Jefferson City, Lebanon and Rolla
    • Ozark Region—Branson and Springfield
    • South Central Region—West Plains and Poplar Bluff
    • Southeast Region—Cape Girardeau, Caruthersville, Kennett, Park Hills, and Sikeston
    • Southwest Region—Joplin and Monett

Filed Under: Featured, Initiatives

NLC: America’s job training system is working

May 4, 2011 By

The National League of Cities published a news analysis on May 2nd on the effectiveness of the public workforce system. The NCL represents more than 19 thousand communities nationwide.

If there is a single mantra that is heard over and over again, it is that the country must find a way to put Americans back to work. Though a major obstacle to putting people back to work is a lack of jobs, another obstacle is the mismatch between the skills of unemployed workers and what business needs. This mismatch has contributed substantially to the slow rate of return of America’s unemployed to the workforce.

Recognizing this is one part of the solution. Addressing it head on is yet another part. There is at least one important way to address this problem at the local level and that is through the nation’s workforce development system. Established by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), the nation’s workforce development system is designed to provide a wide range of services to individuals in need of job training and placement assistance.

For example, last year, the workforce development system provided more than 10 million Americans with a wide range of services including apprenticeships, job training, basic education and job placement assistance. More than 8 million of those came through the Workforce Investment Act system alone. The remainder came through a range of workforce development programs designed to meet the needs of specific populations like migrant workers, American Indians, seniors and youth. And if you add those who received Internet-based assistance, an additional 8.5 million adults were helped.

As one travels across the country, one will find example after example of individual job training programs that have provided individuals with excellent job training assistance that have resulted in them being placed in well-paying if entry level jobs. Programs funded by the WIA are placing nearly 60 percent of their enrollees in jobs paying on average nearly $14,000 per year. And of those in jobs, nearly 80 percent were still on the job after one year.

Filed Under: Featured, Public Policy, Research
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