Workforce Wayne gathers key players

Training for the jobs of the future

By TOM KANE

HONESDALE, PA — Wayne County, like all other counties, is experiencing the ill effects from the economic downturn. Employment is down. People are losing their jobs. Employers struggle to stay ahead.

Luckily, the county has a trump card that, if played right, could turn some things around. That trump card is WorkforceWayne (WFW), an effort that was originally funded by the Wayne Economic Development Corporation (WEDCO). It is the focal point of the effort to bring businesses, schools, community colleges and government together to give education and training more focus.

Its source of funding, up to now, has been a program called Wall Street West that looked to create trained office workers who could provide services for Wall Street as a precaution against another 9/11-style tragedy. Unfortunately, that funding will cease as of December 31.

WFW will continue as a non-profit program and will seek funding from other agencies now that it has obtained 501(c)3 status as a non-profit agency.

“Our purpose is to create a more effective workforce delivery system for the county, to create more career opportunities, increase the skills of the workforce and to foster life-long learning,” said Jennifer Porter, program director.

The program has two main focuses: first, to help unemployed people develop skills that make them attractive to employers and, second, to train students and adults for the jobs of the future in order to attract new businesses to the county.

One program the group has begun assists Wayne County libraries to become information centers where students and adults can get the information for careers and training that they need.

“We have given three libraries two computers each with software programs to help with this, and will eventually reach all seven county libraries,” Porter said.

Another example of the group’s activities is to promote the work of the Sustainable Energy Education and Development Support (SEEDS) program. SEEDS offers training to construction workers in skills like the installation of geothermal systems, the installation of photovoltaic panels, green building construction methods and wind energy construction.

“We are working with local community colleges to structure programs like SEEDS, to give participants academic credit and to give the training some needed stability,” Porter said.

A third activity WFW has adopted is the future installation of a career and technical training center, or Voc-Tech Center, where this kind of training would be structured into the educational system.

“There are only three counties that do not have a Career and Technical Training Center,” Porter said. “They are Wayne, Pike and Adams counties. We are working with all the local schools to install such a center, either in a local school or in a new building.”

For more information visit workforcewayne.org or call 570/253-5334.