Central Lakes College (CLC) in Brainerd and Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program (CEP) began a partnership to serve dislocated workers, or those who have been laid off, downsized or have lost a job because of a company closure.

In anticipation of the economic situation that included likely layoffs in the existing work force, CLC and CEP collaborated to come up with short-term, hour-based, entry-level training for dislocated workers.

And, for eligible enrollees, the training is offered for free. The courses are available to the general public on a fee basis.

"The college wanted to provide training opportunities for people being laid off in a flexible way as soon as possible," said CLC President Larry Lundblad.

Sue Hilgart, CEP team leader at the Brainerd Workforce Center, said Lundblad approached them last winter to discuss what they could do together to give dislocated workers a timely and relevant skill enhancement.

"Nobody had a crystal ball of what was going to open up in the job market in the future, but we kind of had a sense that the renewable-sustainable energy and green construction were areas that might," Hilgart said.

It was important that the programs reflect current industry needs, said Bob Hanson, customized training representative at CLC, so they consulted with members of the industry while developing the programs, which use industry employers as instructors.

"We have done our very best to hire people to instruct within industry," Hanson said.

CLC opted to focus on three areas, developing programs for each: Retro-Green Construction Training; Renewable-Sustainable Energy Training; and Administrative Office Management Training.

The courses are offered through CLC's Business and Industry Center.

The Retro-Green Construction and Renewable-Sustainable Energy trainings were appealing because of the rising interest in renewable energy sources like wind, solar, geothermal and alternative fuels, and the need for trained workers to implement those technologies in the field.

Hopefully the programs will give students "a leg up" in those emerging industries, said Hanson.

"The students are great," he said. "They are very eager to learn."

The Renewable-Sustainable Energy and Retro Green Construction programs have a combined total of 10 students still in training. Four left the programs because they got jobs.

Those two programs run until November. Call Hanson at (218) 855-8149 to inquire about class availability.

The Administrative Office Management training focused on teaching students office skills for succeeding in an existing office or starting a new business. That training ran from July into August with 14 students.

With many companies downsizing, remaining workers may be expected to "do it all," said Hanson.

All three programs include oral and written communication skills; business etiquette and ethics; and basic computer skills; aside from unique offerings in each program.

Those so-called "soft skills" are increasingly important for workers to have, said Hanson.

Stimulus funds funneled through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development provided some of the state funding for dislocated workers to attend the programs free of charge. The stimulus funds go through June 30, 2010.

Other funding was provided through ongoing dislocated worker funds and through the Federal Work Force Investment Act, Hilgart said.

Because they are short-term, hour-based training programs, the students do not earn college credit for their participation; however, they do receive a certificate reflecting their training hours, and some of the program components can be counted as partial credits if they are transferred into a credit-based program at CLC.

They were purposeful in creating stackable educational programs so students can continue into credit-based programs to continue their education, Lundblad said.

"There's already a lot of opportunity to keep growing," Hanson said.

For more information, go to www.clcmn.edu/busind/dislocatedworker.html.