Job Front: Federal grant aids construction workers
Monday, November 22, 2010
By Darrell Smith
dvsmith@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Nov. 22, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 5B
A local building group is offering on-the-job training to job seekers in the construction trades through a joint program with Sacramento Works One-Stop Career Centers.
The Roseville-based North State Building Industry Foundation teams dislocated workers with construction employers in the Sacramento area with help from Sacramento Works, which administers the program.
The paid training for those 18 and older lasts as long as six months, and program trainees are guaranteed at least 30 hours of work a week, said Todd Beingessner, a program case manager at the foundation.
The program has been valuable in a region where the construction sector has been hit especially hard, Beingessner said.
“We see a wide range of placement, from entry level to engineers. We’re able to help a wide variety of individuals,” Beingessner said. “It’s a good segue, getting training that turns into work.”
Employers also benefit. Through the program, which receives funding by way of a Department of Labor national emergency grant, employers are compensated for as much as 90 percent of employees’ costs.
“Employers get to feel the effects right away because they get an immediate benefit,” Beingessner said. “Employers are excited and so are the employees, because they get back to work.”
That made the decision easier for Ken Poelman, president of Carmichael-based Poelman Construction Inc.
Poelman wanted to increase his staff, but was not sure he could until he found out about the foundation’s program.
“We were on the fence as far as hiring, but this got us over that threshold,” he said.
Poelman hired three displaced workers nearly two months ago to bolster his 10-person staff.
Today, two are supervising projects, for the city of Rancho Cordova and at the University of California, Davis.
A third trainee is handling office tasks, and Poelman is considering bringing on another to help bid on new projects.
“They’re good people, they were just let go,” he said. “This helps us manage and watch projects better. It’s changed our whole outlook.”
For more information on the on-the-job training program, contact Beingessner at the North State Building Industry Foundation at (916) 751-2752 or via e-mail at todd@northstatebia.org.
Dealer seeks technicians
Roseville auto dealer Automaxx is accepting applications for ASE-certified automotive service technicians.
The dealership, at the site of the former Andrews Lincoln-Mercury at 1710 Douglas Blvd., in Roseville, opens its doors Friday. Automaxx will specialize in used trucks, SUVs and four-wheel-drive vehicles; it also will provide automotive repair services.
Applicants are encouraged to submit résumés to Automaxx owner Bill Rockefeller at bill.rockefeller@yahoo.com.
For information on Automaxx, visit www.rosevilleautomaxx.com or call (916) 772-7500.
Job-hunting questions?
Ask Terri Carpenter, one of our “Ask the Experts” writers who can answer your questions online.
As a veteran career counselor at the Sacramento Employment Training Agency, Carpenter has plenty of expertise in résumé writing, job-skills training and career counseling.
To post your question or see her advice to other job seekers, go to: www.sacbee.com/ask.
