Stimulus funds grant to help out-of-work Alabamians retrain

MONTGOMERY - Newly unemployed or about-to-be unemployed workers who want to return to the work force may get help through state training programs being developed by $1.3 million federal economic stimulus grants.

Gov. Bob Riley announced Wednesday that the grants to the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education will help recently displaced workers learn new job skills and find job openings.

Linda Bryan, a spokeswoman with the department's work force development office, said the grant will allow the system's career centers to offer more online job networking, retraining and online resume posting.

"The career centers are a door to get past the unemployment line," Bryan said.

The centers, which are in several areas around the state including the Shoals, help link people without a high school diploma to high school equivalency programs.

The programs also help people learn computer skills, retrain for high-tech jobs, find money for additional training and qualify for jobs that employers need filled. The centers provide information and help with referrals to other sources of assistance to displaced workers.

"If you have never used a computer, it can be intimidating to look for a job in today's job market," Bryan said.

"Even signing up for many employment programs is by computer. The career centers can help with that."

The centers are part of a network of programs that help people prepare for jobs now coming into the state.

"We try to remind people in north Alabama that BRAC jobs are coming and those require technical skills," she said.

Base Realignment and Closure will bring 10,000 federal and civilian jobs to north Alabama in coming years. Other employers, including the new railcar plant in Colbert County, will likely bring others to the area.

To be eligible for career center and job assistance through the program, workers must have lost their jobs within the past six months.

The worker's former company also must be receiving assistance from the state's Rapid Response Team that helps companies that announce closings or work force layoffs.