Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 17, 1993 TAG: 9304170117
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ROANOKE'S IDLED GET FEDERAL HELP
Roanoke will receive $793,161 to help workers displaced by the move of Gardner-Denver Mining & Construction's operations to Texas and the purchase of Dominion Bankshares by First Union Corp.The federal grant will come to the Fifth District Employment and Training Consortium, which applied for it and will handle the program.
Assistance to the idled workers can come in the form of an assessment of skills, tuition for college studies and funds for child care.
Vickie Price, administrator of the consortium, said she already is looking at sites for the program and plans to have it going within 30 days. She said she will have to add staff, especially job developers and assessment counselors.
"We estimate there are 382 folks that we can fully serve through the grant," Price said.
She said most of the displaced workers were at middle salary ranges and she hopes the program will help them get their incomes back as close as possible to what they were.
She said a survey done by the consortium found there were jobs available in the health and high-tech fields, such as for computer and electronic technicians, that are going begging because of lack of trained workers.
She said the Virginia Employment Commission has agreed to provide some staffing at a displaced worker center.
She also said there is money available to help displaced workers from companies other than the two specifically mentioned in the grant application.
She said Gardner-Denver and Dominion layoff announcements came after her office's funds already had been obligated, so she went after the federal money that is available for emergency training.
The consortium already serves about 280 dislocated workers through its other programs.