Training for Florida Techies

Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 1:44 PM

H-1B and JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

For those of you in Florida that read this newsletter I'm sure you will
be happy to know that some of the $1,000 H-1B visa fee will now be used
to train you for another job. You will no longer have to fret that an
H-1B took your job because now you can get the same training that
California techies are getting.

If California is any guide, here are some of the exciting jobs you can
train for:

* certified nursing assistant CNA
* medical billing
* physician assistant
* licensed vocational nurse LVN
* Cisco Network administrator
* UNIX system admin
* UNIX systems engineering
* Oracle database and admin
* Oracle applications development
* database administration
* Linux system admin
* MCSE
* Electronic Tech

Of course most of these jobs are taken by H-1Bs but don't let that
discourage you. Even if the pay is 1/3 as much as you used to make, at
least it's a job. It will be tough to convince an employer to hire a
person like you with no experience in the new job, but with the
confidence you obtained in training class you will probably woo your
next boss.

Be sure to report back to me on how your training progresses and how
your exciting new career is working out.

http://hoovnews.hoovers.com/fp.asp?layout=displaynews&doc_id=NR200301141180.3_d5a40007e41d6bc3

Training to Upgrade Technology Skills for Hillsborough County, Fla.,
Workers

January 14, 2003 3:23am

Jan. 14--TAMPA, Fla. -- As many as 1,500 workers in Hillsborough County
will get training to upgrade their information technology skills over
the next two years under a $3-million federal grant.

The grant announced Monday was only the third awarded in Florida. Money
for the program comes from a $1,000 fee employers pay for each H-1B
visa they obtain to hire a foreign worker with a specialized skill that
companies say isn't available in the domestic work force.

Representatives of partners in the grant application -- including
Hillsborough Community College, the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce
and local businesses -- said the training will help local workers get
better jobs and will also help employers keep employees in the Tampa
Bay area.

"This is about getting people skills they need so they can get a
lifetime of learning," said U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, a Tampa Democrat.

IMB and Energy Softworks, a small Tampa software supplier, will use
$1.2-million in grant money to train about 500 workers through schools
such as Hillsborough Community College and the University of South
Florida or private companies.

But the largest single participant, financial giant Citigroup, still
hasn't agreed to the terms of the program, said Renee Benton, executive
director of the Hillsborough County Workforce Board, a nonprofit group
that will administer the grant.

Citigroup was to receive $1.3-million. But the company wants assurances
that it won't violate federal guidelines if the economy gets worse and
the company lays off workers trained under the program, Benton said.

Her organization would need to find companies to replace Citigroup or
return the grant money if the problem can't be worked out, she said.

Congress created the grant program in 1998. Davis was perplexed why
Florida tech companies didn't initially push for the grants, which pay
half the cost of training. The money also reimburses companies for
salaries of employees while they're learning new skills.

It wasn't until the end of 2001 that an economic development group in
Winter Park landed Florida's first grant. "These folks are just so
(busy) it's hard for them to plan ahead," Davis said.

Besides paying to upgrade workers' skills, the grant has a small amount
of money -- about $200,000 -- to give unemployed people entry-level
training for information technology jobs, Benton said.

To see more of the St. Petersburg Times, or to subscribe to the
newspaper, go to http://www.sptimes.com

) 2003, St. Petersburg Times, Fla. Distributed by Knight
Ridder/Tribune Business News.

Copyright ) 2003 Knight Ridder Tribune Business News

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