A government program designed to pay workers while they learn skills to qualify them for a better job is poised to get more money.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is meant to get Americans back to work.

Federal funds are working their way toward Richmond County for workforce development through the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Pee Dee Regional Workforce Development Commission. At least one official involved believes it will have a large impact.

“It’s going to make a huge difference,” said Pee Dee Regional Workforce Development Commission Executive Director Linda Parker. “What it’s going to mean is that if you’re serving 50 people in Richmond County right now, you’ll be able to serve 150 people once the Recovery Act funds are allocated. We hope it will double or even triple it.”

Parker declined to identify just how much money is headed to Richmond County, because she hasn’t had an opportunity to inform the county commissioners formally of the amount and the plan to divvy it up. She is scheduled to do this at their regular meeting in April.

However, on Gov. Bev Perdue’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act website, www.ncrecovery.gov, it identifies several funds for Workforce/Employment Services.

A spokesperson at the state’s Commerce Department confirmed at least three of those funds, totaling more than $75 million, would go toward these efforts throughout the state.

Those three funds deal with the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and designate nearly $10.5 million for adult services under the act, more than $25 million for youth services and nearly $40 million to accommodate dislocated workers.

According to Rockingham Employment Security Commission Local Office Manager Judy Carpenter, there are currently approximately 200 registered dislocated workers receiving assistance under the federal Trade Readjustment Act (TRA) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs.

Those programs were passed in response to the exodus of production jobs that followed the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and provide workers whose jobs were moved overseas with education and financial assistance to find another career.

She said about three-quarters of the nearly 200 workers who were laid-off during the UCO plant closing are currently enrolled, or are completing paperwork toward enrolling. There are still some former Hanes employees enrolled as well.

“We’re trying to do a lot of things here to help (dislocated workers), with our GED classes, Work Keys training, pre-testing and testing here,” Carpenter said. “We’re trying to give them that extra little boost they need.”

Carpenter noted many rural areas throughout the state have taken a big hit over the course of the current recession.

“But we are going to get a big chunk of this money, we’ve already received the guidelines for how we can use it,” she said.

The money will be used to put an emphasis on training for and the creation of green jobs in the state, on-the-job training programs, Career Readiness Certification and an occupational cluster program, according to Carpenter.

“Normally, what we’ve done is get people enrolled in one or two year programs at the community college,” she said. “However, funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will give us the opportunity to get people some short-term training, where they can enroll, take the classes and be certified in three or six months.”

Parker emphasized the importance of short-term training programs in the state’s plan for this federal money.

“The money that is coming from the Recovery Act requires that we act quickly to get our unemployed workforce ... back to work quickly,” Parker said. “In may instances, that is going to require some training.”

“We’re going to look strongly at supplementing short-term training programs through the community colleges, because that’s the fastest way to an individual up-to-speed and ready to work quickly.”

She defined short-term training as programs an individual can enroll in and complete within nine months.

She said her agency has shifted aspects of its focus accordingly.

“There is going to be a greater emphasis on on-the-job training,” she said.

One on-the-job training program that will be implemented allows the workforce development commission to pay 50 percent of an employee’s salary for up to six months.

This means an employer can hire someone to do a $20 an hour job, despite the fact they may lack the proper training, and only pay them $10 an hour while they get the hang of it.

“By then, an employer has been able to recognize this person is a good employee, and it’s our goal they’ll take them onto their full-time payroll,” she said.

A similar program to gain funding is called the Work Experience Program, Parker said, under which the commission can pay 100 percent of a person’s salary as they gain the necessary certification and training to work the job.

“An example of this would be a manufacturing position that requires some math skills,” she said. “We can enroll them in school and pay their salary while they are getting the required math courses. That’s a win-win situation for everybody. The employee gets valuable work experience and training, and the employer gets an employee who is fully-qualified and ready to work the job by the time they’re through with this program.”

Finally, Parker said her agency will emphasize incumbent worker grants to retain jobs, and help employees advance through the ranks of their respective companies.

“These are grant monies that are available for any business to apply for, and use to update the training of their current workforce.”

Parker pointed out many other workforce development services already being offered will be supplemented by this money, as well.

These include the assistance of dislocated workers.

“Once a dislocated worker has exhausted their unemployment benefits, they may qualify for a needs-based payment so they can continue to be enrolled in school and retrain for another job.”