01/12/1983 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

e e e He said that this would make use of the skills of the many trainers in the area as well as bringing to Eugene executives from industries the City would like to attract to the area. Mr. Booth said that computer terminals at the Chamber of Commerce, the University of Oregon, Lane Community College, the Eugene Job Training Center, and other area locations would now allow sharing of information on recruitments and business needs. He said a new automated system was being developed to inventory the skills of the area workforce so that recruitment efforts could be focused on industries that would hire area unemployed. Responding to a question from Councilor Hansen, Mr. Booth said that preliminary job retention follow-up information showed that 68 to 72 percent of those placed through the program were still employed after a six-month period. Mr. Booth said that the information-sharing computers would be located in the metropolitan area but could be used by all who were interested. Responding to a question from Councilor Smith, Mr. Booth said that the Eugene Job Training Center was working with the Business Assistance Team in its recruit- ment efforts and would soon be working with the Convention and Tourism Bureau. Councilor Smith encouraged such cooperation. Councilor Lindberg noted that many activites of the program went well beyond job training. He asked if there were other organizations that could share in the cost of these activities. Mr. Booth said that the Eugene program was seldom the single funding source for activities but often provided seed money. Councilor Obie asked Mr. Booth to repeat figures on area unemployment that he had presented at a recent Council Committee on Economic Diversification (CCED) meeting. Mr. Booth said that the labor demand for Lane County is 115,800, compared with a labor supply of 130,800. He said there were 15,000 unemployed for an overall unemployment rate of 11.4 percent, but noted that even in a healthy economy, there is a residual 5 percent unemployment rate. He said discounting this 5 percent produced a rate of 6.4 percent or a total of 8,371 people actively seeking work in the area. Mr. Gleason noted that these figures were for all of Lane County. Mr. Booth said figures for the City of Eugene would be about 40 percent of the Lane County figures in all categories. Councilor Hansen left the meeting. Councilor Schue noted that the Eugene Private Industry Council (EPIC), which oversees the Job Training Program, is discussing the amount of program efforts that should be put into activities other than direct job training. She said the group generally felt that job training should be the major emphasis, with other activities playing a minor role. Mayor Keller congratulated Mr. Booth on the excellent report. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 12, 1983 Page 10