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Published: Tuesday, August 8, 2006

What's next after Valley job losses?

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A state official said the buyout will pay more than unemployment benefits.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — Delphi Packard Electric workers who haven't been in an Ohio unemployment office in recent years may be surprised to see how things have changed.

The office, for example, is no longer called the Ohio Bureau of Employment Services. Today's job seekers go through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services' One-Stop office.

Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties have computer systems and staffs that are networked so that they can share information and services.

Trumbull County's office is on West Market Street across from the Trumbull County Courthouse. Mahoning County's office is at 149 Boardman-Canfield Road, and Columbiana County's office is at 7860 Lincole Place, Lisbon.

At Ohio One-Stop offices, job seekers don't step inside the door and take a number. Instead, the offices have a computerized tracking system, and first-time users must register on it before moving on to the next step.

Tracking progress

Job seekers use the system on every visit. Matt Falter, an account representative in the Warren office, said that's one reason some computer skills are a prerequisite for finding a job. A computer class is available for those who need one.

The system tracks every trip to the office and alerts appropriate One-Stop personnel when a job-seeker logs on for an appointment. The system uses a fingerprint-like scan to identify the user, Falter explained.

"The way it is set up is self service," Falter said. "We say, 'Make this office your office.'"

The second step is registering with the computerized Sharing Career Opportunities and Training Information system, a statewide jobs bank that is also accessible on a home computer at www.scoti.ohio.gov.

On a recent search, the system said it contained 26,000 jobs and 10,500 résumés.

Falter described SCOTI as being much like monster.com or other job banks in that a user can post a résumé and search for jobs. But it also contains links to the One-Stop Web site and provides information on job expositions and classes available through One-Stop.

The SCOTI system has a tutorial that asks questions about a job-seeker's needs and background to guide the person to free local workshops, market information and suggested Web sites.

Among the free workshops offered at One-Stop are resume writing, interviewing, marketing yourself and career exploration. The One-Stop also helps job seekers sign up for free e-mail, because having e-mail is an important tool for job seekers, Falter said.

Those with no computer at home can come to One Stop, work on the computer, update a résumé and send it to an employer.

Those who need additional training can apply to see whether they qualify for the $7,500-per-year in Workforce Investment Act assistance offered through One-Stop.

Among One-Stop's closest partners in the Warren area — and one of the locations where Workforce Investment Act training is available — is the Workforce Development and Continuing Studies program at Kent State University Trumbull Campus.

Getting a quick start

Lisa Goetsch, program director, said Packard workers who think they want to get job retraining should consider starting class work as soon as Sept. 1. Though that's not much time to plan, Goetsch said the benefit will be that job-seekers will get into a program at the best time.

Those who delay may have to wait until September 2007 to start, she said. Those who wait might also risk having their training benefits run out before they have completed training, she noted.

"I would urge people to explore their opportunities quickly," she said.

Goetsch said she understands why people faced with job loss procrastinate. "It's kind of overwhelming to start a new career," she said.

One way to deal with that anxiety is to get started, even a small step, such as an online class. "A lot of times it's the shorter classes that build confidence and get them going," she said.

Goetsch said workers with skills such as electrician, industrial maintenance or machine operator sometimes need to update their skills. Nearly any worker can use some updated skills in computers or supervision, she added.

One new program this fall at Workforce Development that might be of interest, she said, is the coordinate measurement machine program, which is valuable in all types of industries, including health care, aerospace and automobile manufacturing.

Another new area is metrology, the study of measurement, which prepares workers for jobs in quality control, such as part inspection. Goetsch said that program will be about nine to 10 months long and may start by late winter.

Police training and corrections training programs also are starting in September, she said.

Workforce Development also has classes that update skills in industrial maintenance, hydraulics, welding, quality control and programmable logic controllers.

Other popular programs are machine trades, real estate certification, computers, information technology, financial planning and home inspection.

Goetsch said workers without specific skills can still obtain training to help them find new work, but it may require them to look in a different direction.

"Here's an opportunity to go into a trade that you've always been interested in," she said. "It's kind of a neat opportunity to start over. Here's a chance to go back and follow your dreams and do the things you've always wanted."

Foreign competition

Places like Workforce Development are also approved to provide training for recipients of federal Trade Adjustment Assistance, Goetsch said.

Pat Power, deputy director of the Office of Unemployment Compensation of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said Trade Adjustment Assistance is a program that offers benefits to workers who are negatively affected by foreign competition.

Small groups of workers, the company or a union will usually file a petition with the U.S. Department of Labor for the benefits, which include an extension of the regular 26-week unemployment benefits to as many as 104 weeks; remedial training of up to 130 weeks; and a tax credit for health coverage, Power said.

Another program, known as Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance, is for workers over age 50 who want to seek new employment rather than training. This program provides up to 50 percent of the difference between the job that someone lost through foreign competition and the new job. Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance pays up to $10,000 over two years, Power said.

Most times, groups file for the two programs at the same time, he said.

"We're not at a point where we could say whether workers would get that or not," Power said of the two programs, adding that each worker has to be assessed before the government will indicate whether he or she qualifies.

Power said he has looked at the buyout options Packard workers have been given. He said he doesn't believe the extended unemployment to 104 weeks would provide as much assistance as the buyout. A person cannot get both, he said.

"To me, the buyout package is the big deal. I don't need a calculator to figure that out," he said.

For one thing, the extended unemployment through Trade Adjustment Assistance is subject to the same requirements as regular unemployment, Power said. To continue to receive these benefits, a person would have to continue to show progress in finding work and would have to accept suitable work when it is offered.

Furthermore, workers who keep their jobs will in many cases have to accept a different work schedule or a different job. The worst possible scenario, Power said, would be to stay on the job and then quit because conditions were not acceptable. That employee would lose the buyout and unemployment benefits, he said.

Workers at Packard are being offered buyouts of up to $140,000, and any amount that the worker would get from the buyout would be subtracted from unemployment benefits before they would be able to collect any money, Power said.

Power said unemployment benefits generally range from $9,000 to $12,000 if someone received them for 26 weeks. Even adding in the value of training assistance, it is unlikely a Packard worker would receive as much in assistance as they would by taking a buyout, he said.

"Unemployment doesn't seem to stack up," Power said of the comparison.

A person only qualifies for TAA retraining funds if they don't already have marketable skills, Power said — and only if their job loss is voluntary. WIA training funds may be more flexible, he said. A guideline for that money is that the job loss must be through "no fault of your own."

The Department of Labor representatives who attended a meeting last week with U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, promised Ryan they would put something in writing about the possible eligibility of Delphi workers to receive Trade Adjustment Assistance, Power said.

Ryan and a Republican congressman from Centerville, Michael R. Turner, also sent a joint letter to Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao recently asking that TAA be provided to Delphi workers who accept the buyout offer.

"These workers, through no fault of their own, face not only the loss of their jobs but, potentially, the loss of affordable healthcare," Ryan said.

Cynthia Anderson, vice president for student affairs at Youngstown State University, said the university is planning events this month to bring admissions officers and counselors to GM workers. She had no additional details on the location or times.

For more information on Ohio One Stop's computerized tracking system, visit www.empyra.com on the Web.

runyan@vindy.com

Tuesday, August 8, 2006