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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3. SERVICE ZONEINTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: SUBJECT: DATE: STEVE FITZGIBBONS, CITY MANAGER PAUL BROWN, PLANNING DEPARTMEN~ SERVICE ZONE TRAINING EFFORTS 19 APRIL 2002 Despite efforts to attract Port Arthur residents, only about half of the students signing up for a Service Zone training class at Lamar State College-Port Arthur live in the City, according to data provided by Sandy Stretcher, the Lamar instructor who runs the 5-week And while the numbers are relatively small, Port Arthur residents account for about 70- percent of the individuals dropping out of the free computer-skills training program, Ms. Stretcher said. The instructor said she is surprised at the low percentage of Port Arthur residents participating in the program. She attributes this to an unawareness of the job opportunities at Service Zone, a general lower-than-average technical skill level, and a lack of career-skill preparedness. Both Ms. Stretcher and Ira McNeil of the Southeast Texas Workforce Center said that Port Arthur young people could benefit greatly from specialized programs aimed at teaching specific computer knowledge and life and career skills. The spedml training course at Lamar-Port Arthur is funded through a $312,000 Skills Development Grant provided by the Texas Workforce Commission in Austin. The pilot program will nm for 18 months -- ending in February 2003 - and can train up to 20 students in each five-week class. The availability of computers and laboratory space limit the number of students per module to 20, Ms. Stretcher said. Although two of the four classes so far started with 20 students, dropouts have resulted in a lower completion rate. The other two chsses started with fewer than the maximum number. The courses cost individuals only time and effort because tuition is covcrcd by thc grant. The class has a very strict attendance policy. These steps are followed for an individual to be referred to the special training at Lamar-Port Arthur: 1. The person applies for a job with Service Zone. The company administers three screening tests - a basic typing test, an ethics test and a computer skills test. 2. If the individuals pass one or two of the tests, the company recommends them to the program at the college, where they take other assessment tests to determine thek chances to successfully complete the five-week course. 3. Once firfished with the Lamar training, the job applicants return to Service Zone to retake the tests on which they had previously scored poorly. 4. Those who pass the test or tests then proceed through the Service Zone employment process, which includes drug screening. S. Those who fail the second testing round are eligible to repeat the 5-week course. 6. A small number of individuals who passed the second round of testing were not hired because they failed the drug screening. Ms. Stretcher did not have any information about the cities of residence for those failing the drug test, but she said she had no reason to believe that Port Arthur residents were in the majority of those failing. So far, no students have repeated the course, primarily because it would require another week commitment without any pay. Ms. Stretcher said the students who do not pass the second testing round have usually displayed inattentiveness in class or have otherwise exhibited less-than-desirable career sldlls or a lack of knowledge about generally-accepted employment deportment. She said that the students who succeed take the opporttmiry seriously, apply themselves, follow insU-uctions and attend class regularly and punctually. Of the 20 students in the first class, 15 were Port Arthur residents. Sixteen students completed the first class, with four of the five dropouts being Port Arthur Residents. The second course started with 14 students, eight of whom live in Port Arthur. One dropout from outside Port Arthur resulted in 13 individuals completing that course. The third class had seven Port Arthur residents of the 19 people enrolled. Fourteen students completed the course with four of the five dropouts being Port Arthur residents. The current class started with 20 students, six of whom are from Port Arthur. With two weeks remaining, two non-Port Arthur residents have dropped out. For the three completed courses, 53 students enrolled with 30 - or 56.7 percent - of them being Port Arthur residents. Of the 10 dropouts, seven - or 70 percent - were from Port Arthur. Of the 43 individuals completing thc course, 23 - or 53.5 percent - were from the City. Including all the students in the first three classes, the program has had a completion rate of 81.1 percent. If thc current class encounters no more dropouts, Port Arthur residents in the four course modules will total 36 (49.3 percent) of the 61 graduates. The Port Arthur dropouts would be seven of 12 for 58.3 percent. The successful completion rate would be 83.6 percent. Mr. McNeil said the Service Zone hiring difficulties have attzacted attention recently because the company is preparing to almost double its current workforee of about 350 when the new facility is completed this summer. The Lamar-Port Arthur training program was designed to prepare 240 qualified employees, which along with regular computer-major graduates from Lamar campuses in Port Arthur and Beaumont and Frank Yong's Port Arthur.corn should meet Service Zone's workforce needs in the long run. He added that the problem is that Service Zone has a turnover rate of about 90 percent and finding qualified rephcement employees always poses a challenge that is punctuated by the need to hire between 200 and 300 new employees in a few months. While Port Arthur does not have a shortage of raw labor, Mr. McNeil said the city does hck sufficient skilled or trained hbor to fill the positions available at Service Zone and other employers in the city and the area. "There's a lot going on out there, a lot being done to meet that employment nee& And no one person or entity knows about all the training oppornmiries available. It seems that everyday I'm finding out about more efforts. What we need is better coordination of these efforts," Mr. McNeil said. Port Arthur. com is an example of some of the unsung training efforts, he said. The company regularly offers computer courses on various levels, but at a charge. Mary Ann Reid, assistant director at Port Arthur.corn, said many individuals inquire about training, but are unable to avail themselves of the opportunity because they lack the tuition or transportation. To meet this need, the company will offer a free computer training course for 20 people beginning in May. Ms. Reid said the course is an experiment to provide training for residents of Carver Terrace and Gulf Breeze housing authority apa, m~ent complexes, both of which have computer labs where students can practice at home. In addition, the company has found some funding to help with child care for program participants. Since both morning and afternoon classes will be offered, some parents have been paired so they can keep children while the other is in For youngsters in grades 7 to 12, the company will have two, 3-week computer canaps at very reasonable prices. It appears that several opportunities exist for the City to augment training possibilities for residents. These could include working with Port Arthur.corn to make training available to more individuals. In addition, Port Arthur Weed and Seed provides a strategic framework for similar training opportunities.