BUILDING SKILLS
As published on page 13 of the April 2, 2011 edition of The Keene Sentinel, and online.
Six men sat down to share a lunch of pizza and Pepsi at Structal Bridges in Claremont on Monday. Three were experienced metal workers with between two years and more than a decade of experience with the company, shaping and assembling metal beams into bridges and overpasses for installation around the Northeast.
The others were unemployed workers who have never used a welding torch in their lives. They had been at Structal for the past two hours, and had finished a safety orientation and taken their first look at the company's 5-acre workshop.
"It's awesome; I can't wait to get out there," said Ty Ingram, grinning ear to ear.
Ingram and the two other trainees are at Structal to take part in state and federal jobs programs created in response to the recent recession. The programs have two aims: to help companies recovering from the recession add new workers, and to help laid-off workers learn new skills.
The experienced workers emphasized to the trainees the importance of staying aware of your surroundings and asking a lot of questions.
"I like showing them that I like what I do, and I don't mind showing anyone the tricks I know," said Steven Rivera, who has worked at Structal for two years.
For 26 hours a week for six weeks, Ingram will work one-on-one with Rivera to learn what he needs to know to function as a member of the workshop team. During that period, he will continue to be eligible for unemployment benefits through N.H. Employment Security. But if all goes as Ingram and company and government officials hope, at the end of that period Structal will hire him as a full-time assistant.
And the opportunities don't stop there. Previous participants who have shown competence, energy and a willingness to learn in this work experience program have gone on to not only full-time employment, but additional subsidized on-the-job training as welders or fitters for the company -- jobs that pay in the range of $20 an hour.
After two hours of orientation, Ingram had already decided he wanted to learn to weld. With luck, he and his fellow trainees will graduate from the six-week program and never be on unemployment again.
On the shop floor, Steven P. Hodgkins was working with a large crane, maneuvering girders to be assembled into a bridge that would then be taken apart and reassembled on Interstate 95 in Connecticut.
Hodgkins started at Structal as a trainee, like Ingram, right after Thanksgiving. Before that he had been unemployed for four months after his position at the modular home company where he had worked for 15 years was downgraded to part-time.
He was at home in Claremont when someone from the state employment office called to tell him about the work experience opportunity.
"When I heard about this I was ecstatic. I thought it was one of the best programs I'd ever heard of," he said.
He passed the final exam for Structal's fitter certification last week, and he is ambitious and optimistic about his new career.
Structal is hiring for 30 new jobs, and Hodgkins, who was a foreman supervising 50 workers in his previous position, is glad to have been one of the early recruits.
"There's a lot of opportunity here, and I'll have a jump on everyone else in terms of seniority," he said.
The push to add to the company's workforce is part of what motivated Structal to invest current employees' time in the government-sponsored training programs. Structal, which employs 97 workers in Claremont, is a subsidiary of the Canam Group, an international company operating more than 25 bridge manufacturing plants and engineering offices around the world.
"I was told in January they want 30 more people by June, so we had to do something," said Dena Hlatky, the company's human resources director. "We had to get aggressive and put trainers in place."
The company is working with two different government programs, both administered in the region by the Southwestern Community Services, which is based in Keene.
Return to Work, which places unemployment recipients in companies for work experience, is a New Hampshire program N.H. Governor John H. Lynch announced in January 2010.
Hlatky appreciates the chance to get to know potential employees.
"In an interview you only have 30 to 45 minutes to get to know a person, and you have to make your decision based on that short period," she said.
Job seekers also benefit from the chance to get to know a new workplace.
"It is a tough environment here, and it's not for everyone," Hlatky said.
The on-the-job training program -- the one Hodgkins used to get his fitter certification, and Ingram hopes to take advantage of to learn how to weld -- is federally funded.
It was created through the Workforce Investment Act and has existed for years, but recently got a boost from the federal stimulus package.
Again, the program fills a gap in Structal's recruiting.
"It's just about impossible to find specialized welders and fitters who are experienced," Hlatky said.
On-the-job training received $75 million in stimulus funds, which was distributed to states across the country. New Hampshire's share of that money translated into 50 potential training slots, according to Michael Power, who supervises local work programs from the N.H. Office of Workforce Opportunity.
So far, 40 of those slots have been filled by long-term unemployed workers, he said. They found jobs with 29 employers statewide. Fifteen of the positions were in manufacturing, 14 in service, four in information technology, three in engineering, two in health, one in construction and one in administration, according to Power.
To take advantage of the training program, a company has to hire a worker as a full-time, benefits-eligible employee. The program then refunds the company as much as 90 percent of that employee's wages, depending on the size of the company. The company pays the contributions to the employee's benefits and payroll taxes, and training can last up to six months.
Local coordinators work with job seekers and employers to make the program work.
"We do testing and training to make sure the employee is a good match for the company," said Darlene Hall, the Workforce Investment Act coordinator at Southwestern Community Services. "We're not just taking someone off the street and saying: "hey, would you like to work here?' "
That support also makes it easier for employers to navigate the red tape of the government programs.
"It was almost shocking to me how helpful and eager they were to help me get it done," said Shannon B. Guyer, human resources manager at Turmoil, Inc., a company in Swanzey with 15 employees.
Turmoil hired one employee through the on-the-job training program and taught him to assemble electronic components. That employee's subsidized training ended in October.
"He's still with us, and he's on his own and doing good," Guyer said.
She would "definitely" consider the program if the company had a position to fill in the future, she said.
Putting employers in charge of the training ensure that the taxpayers get good value on their investment, according to Power.
"These trainings are limited, they're focused, and they're what the employer sees as a need, not the government," he said, "It's not the government telling the unemployed person: go do this and we'll give you training."
Not only do the programs boost the economy by helping employers grow and compete, he said, they turn unemployment recipients into wage earners.
"It's one of the best investments we can make," he said. "It's an investment in human capital, and it provides a pathway for people to be contributing members of our society and our tax rolls."
It also gives experienced workers the satisfaction of passing on their skills. Just ask Edwick Yates of Brownsville, Vt.. He teaches trainees at Structal to be fitters, who assemble the pieces of a bridge before they're bolted or welded together.
"I love the look on their faces when I show them how easy it is to make something work," he said.
tagged with: business, feature, job creation
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