Training Programs, Colleges Boost Workforce
Published Mar 05, 2007
Job seekers can avail themselves of invaluable training opportunities.
Against a background of an expanding workforce coupled with looming retirements by baby boomers, the training programs of WorkSource Oregon and community colleges have emerged as key contributors to the state’s economic health.
In the Portland region, WorkSource Oregon’s Portland Metro Centers and Clackamas, Mt. Hood and Portland community colleges offer training for employers and individuals.
“Businesses truly benefit from these programs,” says Sue Fletcher, WorkSource Oregon’s director of business and community relations. “They have access to a skilled and qualified workforce, customized training, and tax credit and labor marketing information.”
WorkSource Oregon, which has divisions across the state, trains more than 3,000 people each year. In addition, more than 100,000 visit WorkSource centers annually to be connected to employment opportunities, workshops or career planning.
The program was created in 1998 under the leadership of Gov. Ted Kulongoski. It uses the services of local providers, including Worksystems Inc. in Multnomah and Washington counties. Worksystems is a nonprofit organization that oversees workforce investments and contracts with community colleges and community-based organizations to offer training.
In addition to providing skills training to people already in the workforce or those freshly hired, WorkSource Oregon’s Portland Metro Centers “provide training to job seekers, dislocated workers and youth,” Fletcher says.
The training varies – it can be classroom oriented or on the job, and the duration can be short term or as long as 15 months.
At the community colleges, training programs take many different forms. “We have a long history of designing and developing New Employee Training (NET) for companies that are new to the region,” says Paul Wild, director of customized and workplace training at Portland Community College. “Our track record is strong. Our programs consistently reduce employee time to reach full productivity – usually by more than 50 percent – and reduce employee turnover.”
In another workforce-development initiative, Worksystems Inc. has partnered with PCC and Mt. Hood Community College for Career Pathways, a program that provides students with entry-level occupational training. Career Pathways offers “shorter duration training programs that are easier for job seekers and workers to commit to,” Fletcher says. “Businesses and job seekers benefit from portable certification that can be put to work right away on the job.”
Story by Heather Strang
Photo by Antony Boshier
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