Timely lessons: Taxpayer-funded tech training a boon to displaced workers03/08/2001 By Crayton Harrison / The Dallas Morning News 
Summar Zak-Smith / DMN
Mark Miller, a research analyst who was laid off from his job, will soon begin classes in the Just In Time/Anytime program.
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After Mark Miller was laid off as a market research analyst in June, he wanted to learn technology skills to start a new career but couldn't afford the thousands of dollars most training programs charged.
Then he heard about a federally funded program in the works that would provide technology training for displaced workers for free. Few such programs existed last year, and although it took months to get this one off the ground, classes are set to begin in April. Mr. Miller is hoping it was worth the wait.
"This training couldn't come soon enough," Mr. Miller said of the Just In Time/Anytime program. "If I can do this training, I think I can have job stability."
Just as technology industry layoffs have hit the Dallas area, local educational institutions are beginning programs funded by state and federal grants that will train displaced workers and attempt to place them in high-tech jobs. It might seem to be bad timing, but educators said the technology job market can still gobble up freshly trained workers.
"Because of the technical nature of the training, we feel like there will be positions for them," said Melinda Weaver, associate dean at Richland College, one of two schools that will offer tech certification through Just In Time/Anytime. "The Internet's not going to go away, and we need people to run it."
The Texas Legislature estimates 34,000 technology jobs remain unfilled in the state, and the number is increasing rapidly. What's more, technology jobs average salaries that are 88 percent higher than those for jobs in more traditional sectors, adding to the incentive to get North Texas workers into those vacant positions.
In addition to Just In Time/Anytime, other training initiatives are proposed or underway.
The E-Futures program was started in December by the North Texas Central Workforce Development Board to train workers in Web design or systems networking. And the Texas Legislature is considering a bill that would spend $5 million a year on university grants for engineering scholarships and teacher training, matched by an additional $5 million a year from private industry.
The Just In Time/Anytime program is funded by a $1 million federal grant to the Dallas County Workforce Development Board. It offers technology certification in specialized areas such as Certified Internet Webmaster and Cisco systems engineering. Mr. Miller is enrolling in the Richland College courses for his webmaster certification. The Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development in Dallas will also offer the courses.
The program originally was to begin last fall, but red tape kept pushing the start date back. Orientation begins next week, Ms. Weaver said.
To qualify for the program, Mr. Miller had to get two rejection letters for bank loans, a requirement that wasn't difficult to fill, he said. The coursework will take a few months, depending on the level of certification, Ms. Weaver said.
Richland is developing relationships with area companies to place newly certified workers in jobs.
The E-Futures program also focuses on workers such as Mr. Miller who might not otherwise be able to afford training. It already has about 60 people enrolled, with about 200 slots left to fill.
E-Futures uses a $2.8 million U.S. Labor Department grant to provide free training for workers in Web design and computer networking at Southern Methodist University and Collin County Community College.
The program focuses on recruiting women and minorities, especially those who may have poor credit histories.
"We were very excited about getting the grant because there's a very large need in the area," said Jennifer Roberts, planning and research manager for North Texas Central Workforce. "The high-tech employers in the Richardson Telecom Corridor are trying to find skilled applicants for all the positions there, and we're trying to fill that need."
While the Just In Time/Anytime and E-Futures programs focus on certification training, the legislative initiative is aimed at the university level.
Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano, who is sponsoring the engineering scholarship bill, said technology jobs should go to North Texas workers rather than workers in other states or countries because such jobs offer large salaries and benefits that can boost the local economy.
"These are the kind of jobs we want to keep in Texas," he said. "Not only do we want to keep them here, we want companies to send more of their jobs to Texas because we have highly skilled, qualified people here."
His bill, endorsed by Gov. Rick Perry, includes special incentives for minority students to pursue engineering careers and tutoring programs to make sure engineering students complete their degrees. About half of the students who enroll in electrical engineering programs at state universities fail to graduate with a degree in the field, Mr. McCall said.
Such initiatives could give workers such as Mr. Miller a second chance – and help fill the need for skilled labor in the North Texas area.
Mr. Miller said his family has struggled with a bad credit history, and he, his wife and two young children have had lived off the family's savings while waiting for the free training opportunity.
"We're putting some of our food on credit cards, and just waiting," he said. "We're depleting our savings, just hoping this pays off."
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