Workforce Investment Board contracts with EDC for layoff aversion program
Workforce Investment Board contracts with EDC for layoff aversion program
With the most recent unemployment rate in San Benito coming in at 17.6 percent, the county board of supervisors approved a contract between the Workforce Investment Board and the Economic Development Corporation for layoff aversion services March 6.
“We receive different funds under rapid response (unemployment services,) said Enrique Arreola, the deputy director of Community Services and Workforce Development. “We assist clients in need of workforce services that visit the one-stop center as they come in. …we are not necessarily trying to prevent the layoff.”
His staff can also go in to assist employers that are expecting a layoff to offer job placement assistance or help in training employees for work in a new industry.
“We did this when Earthbound Farms did a layoff in November and when Milgard closed,” Arreola said.
The Lay-Off Aversion program, funded with $16,000 from the Workforce Investment Board, will try to help companies in distress before they get to the point of needing to lay off staff members.
“Right now we are really assessing the business landscape,” Arreola said. “It is our goal to see how they are doing, what additional support systems they have and what other system support they need so that we can assist before the actual lay off of employees.”
The initial part of the program is a survey of a few hundred county businesses to find out how they are faring and then identify 10 to 15 that are in danger of needing to lay off employees in the near future.
“There are a number of reasons to do surveys and this is an ongoing process,” said Nancy Martin, the executive director of the EDC. “We are performing some ba
sic work. We need to know what kind of companies we have here, what their needs are and what they would like to have in the way of resources and anything else we might be able to provide so that they can run their businesses better.”
The second part of the aversion strategy will include a brown bag lunch program where business owners can connect with resources in the community such as the Small Business Development Center, based at California State University, Monterey Bay.
“It will assist them with different needs,” Arreola said. “Do they need a small business loan or an updated business plan? Do they need to focus on marketing?”
The information gathered from the surveys will be used to apply for state funding for more in-depth lay-off aversion programs.
While Martin will oversee the program, student interns from CSU Monterey Bay will be the ones to make the initial contact with local business owners.
“I go out and meet with businesses every month, but being a one-person operation it is hard to do that in a massive amount,” Martin said. “Our student teams are all business students who will go out in teams of two. They are bilingual teams and they are supervised.”
Martin, as well as a staff member of the Small Business Development Center, will oversee the students.
Arreola said the outreach is an integral part of the program because a lot of business owners don’t know about the services offered at Community Services and Workforce Development or the Small Business Development Center.
“Last year we had different business roundtables and one of the roundtables focused on what we could offer small businesses,” he said. “But we only captured those attending. There is a larger community that is not aware of the services.”
He said that there is some reluctance in the business community to ask for help before they are ready to start layoffs.
“We found that many businesses that are struggling have some reluctance to contact the office because of their business situation and keeping it confidential – even larger companies,” he said. “You wonder what happened and could it be prevented. It’s tough with the local economy, but we have some kind of intervention.”
Martin said that whatever the business owners share with the student surveyors will be kept confidential.
“We don’t want to make them feel they are putting themselves in a precarious situation or the future of their company,” Martin said.
Arreola said the initial interview with businesses should take about 30 minutes, and he said the student interns would be going to the business owners. From those interviews, some businesses will be invited to attend the brown bag lunch that will include topics such as client relations-customer service, agriculture and technology, marketing and social media for businesses and more. Representatives will be present from the Small Business Administration, the Small Business Development Center, the Hollister Downtown Association and more. The program is scheduled to be completed by June 30, with a report to the county board of supervisors.
Martin said there are business symposiums held around the state, but she said the brown bag lunch will be more targeted to the resources that will most help local businesses. She said the surveys will help inform what speakers are involved at the brown bag lunch. Businesses will be able to choose the speakers they are interested in.
She said the survey will give the business community and elected officials a better understanding of “the economic climate and economic viability of our community.”
“I think this is an excellent use of funds,” said Supervisor Margie Barrios, at the March 6 supervisors’ meeting. “You, the EDC and youth. It’s creative…The outcomes, I think, will be a wonderful partnership. I think the outcome will be great.”
Supervisor Anthony Botelho said he thought it was a good use of money as well.
“It introduces options to companies,” he said. “Hopefully you can go beyond and we can expand what we do to make the environment better (for businesses.)”
Arreola said it has been years since the department has offered a similar preventative program.
“I’ve actually been wanting to get something going for two or three years,” he said. “Funding has always been an issue … Now that we are going through the process we will have information we can use in applying for additional funds from the state.”
