Rounds: Stimulus can retrain workers

PIERRE — The federal stimulus measure is providing a chance to help some jobless people get training so they can get better jobs as the economy recovers, Gov. Mike Rounds said.

The number of unemployed people in South Dakota has grown by more than 5,000 in the past year because of the recession, Rounds said during a recent appearance on the Dakota News Network radio stations. Most of those people have never been jobless before, he said.

“This is not a case of being chronically unemployed. This is a case of with the downturn in the economy at the national level, many of their jobs have been lost,” the governor said.

Three-quarters or more of the people who have lost jobs in South Dakota worked on production lines in manufacturing companies and had little education beyond high school, Rounds said. Stimulus programs will help them get retrained with additional skills so they can qualify for better jobs, he said.

Stimulus money will pay universities and technical schools to set up courses needed by workers and businesses, Rounds said. Other programs also can pay tuition for people to get retrained in those classes.

“We can pay for the tuition to send them back to school while they are still getting unemployment benefits,” Rounds said.

The governor said other programs also can pay child care expenses while jobless people look for work or are in school being retrained.

The state Labor Department has a number of programs that help unemployed people find new jobs. Some programs focus on helping older workers or setting up summer work that provides job training for those 14-24 years old.

Rounds said that when a jobless person first visits a local Labor Department office, a staff person is assigned to each case. The staff person helps that unemployed worker look for work or decide to seek retraining and other services.

Labor Department staff can help people locate job opportunities, fill out job applications, write letters, practice interviewing skills, update occupational skills and identify opportunities for new careers.

The state Labor Department is eligible to receive nearly $27 million in stimulus funding for work force programs.

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