By Bill Zeeble, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-893833.mp3
Dallas, TX – Texas Officials stopped in Dallas Wednesday pushing a jobs program that could hire up to 7,500 unemployed workers. But so far, the Back to Work plan has only employed 200. KERA's Bill Zeeble has more.
It's a busy Wednesday morning in the state's Workforce Solutions building in Southwest Dallas. 33 year-old Ahmad Fountain, recently out of prison on drug charges, is looking for jobs. He sits at one of the dozens of computers in this office run by the Texas Workforce Commission. Fountain says he's a qualified fork lift operator and is OSHA- certified. He welcomes the assistance here, but wishes it were better.
Ahmad Fountain: I feel like the help could be a little bit more Like when my parents were going through TWC, when I was coming up, I feel like they've done a little more than what they do now. As far as helping you find a job, have more contact with employers? Just have inside leads.
"Inside leads" is kind of what the state's Back to Work program offers. The $15,000,000 state-funded plan gives companies $2,000 for each unemployed worker hired for at least 4 months. Robert Funk, with Aegis Communications, says the Irving business is among those taking advantage of the TWC program.
Robert Funk, Director, Aegis Communications: We tell them what kind of people we're looking for, whether sales or customer service or back-office processing, and they're able to push people towards us that match those requirements 214. So we're able to hire those folks. They're able to put folks back to work. We're able to take care of our clients.
Funk says his business will hire 2,000 people this year. Calling the state's TWC money icing on the cake, he says the real value here comes from the TWC finding qualified workers in large numbers. Lt. Governor David Dewhurst calls it a win-win program.
Lt. Governor David Dewhurst: Talking with so many different employers, when you ask about federal programs, they hold their hands up and say "No, there are strings attached, I don't' want to do that." But this is a no strings attached. We just want to get unemployed workers back to work.
The state's Back to Work program officially launched February 9th, after a pilot program in East Texas. Workforce Commission chair Tom Pauken says the state wants more companies to sign up.
Tom Pauken, Chair, TWC: The economics work. We're taking people off unemployment, we're helping people of modest means - it applies to unemployed people making 15 dollars or less - we're getting them aboard companies that provide job training that hopefully will lead to permanent employment.
So far, only 208 have found jobs in the program. The Workforce Commission says it's not disappointed by the number, because this Back to Work program is still so young. But even if all the money gets spent over the two year life of the plan, it would only pay for 7,500 jobs. That's fewer than half the jobs lost in February alone.