Transition center ready for Delphi, GM workers
Monday, August 25, 2008
MORAINE — Justin Curtis took the first steps to the rest of his career Monday, Aug. 25, at the Montgomery County Career Transition Center.
There, the 23-year-old registered for the center's services.
Curtis, a Huber Heights resident, recently took a $70,000 payment to leave a job operating CNC machines and forklifts at Delphi Corp.'s Needmore Road plant. The father of three hopes that training in computers will further his prospects — and if he qualifies, the center will pay for his tuition in a growing job field with federal Workforce Investment Act dollars.
"I'll take the (Delphi buyout) money and get the career I want," Curtis said.
Lucious Plant, Montgomery County workforce development coordinator, pronounced Curtis a "smart young man."
When workers leave jobs in manufacturing, it makes sense for them— particularly if they're young — to position themselves for new careers altogether, Plant said.
With Delphi having closed or scheduled to close several area plants, the transition center has been busy since 2006. And after General Motors announced in June that it will close its Moraine assembly plant by 2010, center staff expect to remain busy.
"We've got our hands full, that's for sure," Plant said.
The center opened in available space in a county environmental lab well before Delphi declared bankruptcy in October 2005, Plant said. Buoyed by state and federal dollars, it has since offered resume and interview workshops, given workers a place to track job openings online, paid for tuition in certain disciplines and basically pointed workers in new directions.
The center is meant to help U.S. citizens who lose their jobs through no fault of their own, said case manager Christie English. Workers who resign or are fired can still rely on the county Job Center on Edwin C. Moses Boulevard.
Registered clients receive a 30-minute orientation, have math and reading skills assessed and are assigned a case manager. From there, their journey begins. The idea is to place workers in what Plant called "critical" or growing job fields, such as welding, supply chain management, health care and more.
English said the center tends gets more active before the start of university academic years. Workers from GM, Delphi and DMAX have been registering, she said.
"We've send them (clients) to school from Cincinnati to Columbus and everywhere in the middle," English said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.
Montgomery County Career Transition Center
Location: 4257 Dryden Road, Moraine.
Phone: (937) 496-7397.
Mission: Assist workers dislocated through layoffs or downsizing.
Growing job fields:
Health care
Advanced materials manufacturing
CNC machine operation
Welding
Physical and occupational therapy
Logistics
Supply chain management
Source: Montgomery County
