Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Tuesday that the city is making $10.3 million in federal stimulus money available for worker-training programs.

The grants will be issued by the Community Development Department. Of the $10.3 million, $4 million will be used for vocational training for 1,000 workers and $6.3 million will be available to train an estimated 2,000 people for high-wage jobs in healthcare, construction, transportation and other sectors.

Villaraigosa said the city has received $43.7 million in job-training funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act so far, and between $300 million and $400 million in overall stimulus money.

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Tags: economy, jobs, careers, stimulus, government, california

Categories: The Economy

Hot off the presses! It is confirmed that Jeffrey Zients, the nation's first Chief Performance Officer, will be speaking at the upcoming conference hosted by The Public Manager and the American Society for Public Administration. The conference will be held November 2-3 in Washington, D.C. For more information on Zients, see the press release. To HEAR him speak, go to the conference. Register at www.thepublicmanager.org/2009conference. Early bird registration has been extended until October 30!

Tags: the public manager, conference, chief performance officer, government, public sector, barack obama, jeffrey zients

Categories: ASTD in the News | Conferences | Government | Public Policy

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) September 12, 2009 -- The managing partner of an Atlanta-based staffing agency is witnessing increased demand for workers with skills in web development, Java development and software engineering, a sign, he says, that the much-anticipated economic recovery may be nearing.

Tony Cornett, president and managing partner of the Mateo Group and an 11-year veteran of the staffing industry says that increased demand in these areas in previous downturns has led to enhanced economic activity and an improved business climate.

"Staffing is considered a bellwether industry because we see hiring trends 6-12 months in advance of business," says Cornett. "I see the labor market showing signs of improvement that I believe will be more visible by the 4th quarter of this year and closer to normal during Q1 2010. Right now the demand is for skilled workers in specialized fields such as application development, but their productivity invariably leads to increased demand in other areas six months down the road." 

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Tags: economy, jobs, careers, recovery, government

Categories: The Economy

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) September 12, 2009 -- The managing partner of an Atlanta-based staffing agency is witnessing increased demand for workers with skills in web development, Java development and software engineering, a sign, he says, that the much-anticipated economic recovery may be nearing.

Tony Cornett, president and managing partner of the Mateo Group and an 11-year veteran of the staffing industry says that increased demand in these areas in previous downturns has led to enhanced economic activity and an improved business climate.

"Staffing is considered a bellwether industry because we see hiring trends 6-12 months in advance of business," says Cornett. "I see the labor market showing signs of improvement that I believe will be more visible by the 4th quarter of this year and closer to normal during Q1 2010. Right now the demand is for skilled workers in specialized fields such as application development, but their productivity invariably leads to increased demand in other areas six months down the road." 

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Tags: economy, jobs, careers, recovery, government

Categories:

(From triplepundit.com) If a new green jobs program unveiled by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Monday has its intended effect, lack of ability will no longer stand in the way of many Californians’ efforts to join the green work force. The $75 million plan would train more than 20,000 workers for jobs in the clean energy sector, thereby somewhat alleviating (in theory) the state’s history-making unemployment rate. Yet I’m unconvinced: will these effects be a mere drop in the bucket called “California’s job market”?

Schwarzenegger revealed the plan in Los Angeles’ Trade-Technical College, the Los Angeles Times reports. The program is intended to train both young workers and the unemployed in green building design and weatherization and solar installation. A $20 million injection from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and funds from the California Energy Commission, community groups, and educational institutions, will fund the program.

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Tags: green jobs, training, skills, government, california

Categories: News

Tags: skills, skills shortage, government, public sector

Categories: News

(From the Washington Post) It's cheap at any price.

The Congressional Budget Office says a bill designed to fix the broken federal hiring process would cost $40 million over five years.

That's a pittance -- loose change rolling around in Uncle Sam's deep pockets -- compared with the aggravation, frustration and irritation many government job seekers encounter.

A major chunk of that money, $15 million, would be spent in fiscal year 2010 to develop the data-collection systems agencies would need to collect hiring statistics and make reports to Congress. Much of the remainder would be used to maintain those systems.

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Tags: public sector, government, recruiting

Categories: News

(From The Australian) JULIA Gillard today will concede that Australia's industrial relations culture is holding back the productivity boost promised by her new workplace system.

The Deputy Prime Minister's push follows business complaints that the new Fair Work Australia system is entrenching an outmoded adversarial workplace culture based on the industrial tribunal, the unions and awards.

Ms Gillard will use her address to the World Congress of the International Industrial Relations Association in Sydney to announce "a new focus on cultural change in the workplace".

This has been given impetus by an unpublicised Melbourne forum of business leaders, union officials, bureaucrats and academics convened by Ms Gillard late last month to promote the "workplace of the future".

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Tags: workplace, behavior, government, australia, culture, business news

Categories: International | News

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray wants to put $912 million into a new national center that would invite states to compete for money for innovative job training programs.

Murray, a Democrat who represents Washington, said Wednesday that she hopes the bill will encourage employers, schools and work force training experts to get together with state officials to create programs to train high school and college students for jobs that pay enough to support families.

She is being joined in the move by U.S. Rep. John Tierney, a Democrat who represents Massachusetts.

Murray says she got the idea for the bill while traveling around the state of Washington talking to employers who say they can't find enough skilled workers to fill their needs.

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Tags: training, policy, government, innovation

Categories: News

(From Federal News Radio) Coming soon to a federal workplace near you: A farmer's market, centralized child-care, and a garden.

It's part of a joint effort between the Office of Personnel Management and three other agencies to create a model federal work-life campus.

It would serve more than 6,000 federal workers at OPM, the Interior Department, GSA and the Federal reserve. The heads of those agencies say they hope to inspire others on ways to improve worker morale.

According to an OPM memo, "U. S. Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry met with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, General Services Administration Acting Administrator Paul F. Prouty and officials from the Federal Reserve Board to discuss ways to create a model Work-Life 'campus' that will showcase what the Federal Government can do to improve the wellness, morale and productivity of Federal employees."

Work-Life initiatives being looked at include "wellness programs, Telework policies and the potential for sharing facilities."

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Tags: workplace, workplace flexibility, public sector, government

Categories: News