The shortage of high-technology workers, as mentioned in a March 10 article, “Obama calls for boost in high-tech training, hiring,” about President Obama’s “tech hire” initiative, is being addressed locally by several organizations, including the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council and our partner, WorkSource.
SWWDC has programs available to offset employers’ costs to train employees in specific high-tech occupations, including as system administrators and software engineers, among others. These programs have enabled 15 local companies to implement trainings that improved the skills of more than 600 employees. To see if your company qualifies, contact me, SWWDC employer services manager, at 360-567-3170 or llawrence@swwdc.org.
Individuals seeking IT and software jobs, including as hardware engineers, support specialists, system architects and network administrators, especially veterans and those who have been out of work more than 26 weeks since 2008, may qualify for no-cost training and other services to help them improve their skills and get a job. Contact WorkSource at 360-735-5019 for assistance or attend an orientation every Friday at 1 p.m. at WorkSource, 5411 E. Mill Plain Blvd., Suite 15, Vancouver.
These no-cost training programs are currently available to businesses and individuals in our community. Please learn more and tell your friends.
