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By AARON
BRAND Texarkana Gazette
Providing home-based computer access opens
gateways for prospective workers seeking job skills and the right
job placement.
Through a new partnership between the North
East Texas Workforce Development Board and Business Access, Texarkana
area residents have been enlisted as part of a pilot program
giving them online assistance in looking for work.
The In Home Learning computer program dropped
nine computers into the hands of Texarkana residents. Twenty-nine
residents in the North East Texas WDB nine county coverage area
have been able to take advantage of this new program, which is
geared toward teaching literacy, computer literacy and job search
skills.
Participants can acquire job skills, gain
certifications and search for work by using this program from
home. The curriculum is tailored for each client, client choice
and need being a key component to this program, said Jeanie Callicott,
executive director of North East Texas WDB.
Another primary goal is to set up a sense
of accountability; participants can be monitored to check the
rate of access and see if coursework is being completed.
So far, Callicott calls the program successful,
based upon November figures for participation. Participants have
averaged 25 hours per week working on the online curriculum,
which is a diverse array of teaching materials developed by Business
Access. Overall, participants--called "achievers"--have
logged 7,029 hours of learning time through the program.
"We've had high usage on the part of
every achiever," said Callicott. Sometimes participants
in such programs can show an initial reluctance to use these
types of learning tools, but that has not been the case with
this program.
One of the main benefits lies in the removal
of barriers that hinder educational access, she said. Considering
that the WDB pays for participants' childcare to the tune of
1,572 kids, home-based programs gearing workers up for job readiness
eliminate the need for that expense, in addition to solving transportation
problems so common in rural areas.
"In some cases we don't have rural transportation," Callicott
said. As a further incentive, the program is free to participants.
Upon completion of the curriculum, computer ownership is gained
by the participant, making the online skills accessible in the
future.
"The NETWDB felt the program addressed
rural employment barriers such as difficulty with transportation,
childcare and access to technology," Callicott said. "The
cost savings realized through a home-based system made the pilot
program worthwhile."
Kim Bunting, president and CEO of Business
Access, agrees that the program offers great potential for learning
and success.
"It opens up all of the resources of
the Internet, so they can do things like research information
... all the way to working from the home," Bunting said. "We've
had achievers who've started businesses over the Internet."
Altogether, more than 300 courses are accessible
to the participants. Bunting said each participant takes a core
curriculum of four courses, and from there the curriculum choices
for students are customized. Participants can gather skills related
to such computer programs as Excel, Word, Powerpoint, or similar
programs, or they can, for example, learn web design.
The advantages of an in-home learning system
such as this is that it provides a central learning place where
people can go take training courses right from home by participating
in expert chats, reading articles, and posting to online bulletin
boards related to career choices, Bunting said.
"There's just a world of things you
can do on the Internet," said Bunting.
Business Access essentially donates the computers
and provides the software and related equipment needed for the
program, Bunting said. It then sells "seat" licenses
to the NETWDB that enable the workforce organization to have
its participants use the curriculum at home.
More information about this and other NETWDB
programs is available by calling (903) 794-9490 or visiting the
Website at www.netxworkforce.org.
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