Georgia retraining program expands, just don't expect to get paid

All jobless Georgians are now eligible for a Labor Department training program that matches the unemployed with possible employers.

But there’s a hitch: you won’t make any money.

As the Georgia Works program now stands, anybody who receives unemployment insurance can train for a private or public-sector job while continuing to receive unemployment benefits which averages $236 weekly.

The jobless are often hired by the company or can apply their newly learned skills to another job. And employers can test-drive potential employees during the six-week, unpaid training session.

Sandy Hilton, who owns day care centers in Macon and Bonaire, has hired three teachers and administrators via Georgia Works.

“For employers, you really can’t go wrong with this program,” Hilton said. “You can take the time to find the best match for a position. It’s like buying a used car: it’s sure nice to try it out a little bit before you sign on the dotted line.”

Starting Monday, jobless Georgians who don’t receive unemployment insurance can join Georgia Works. But they won’t receive unemployment benefits and will, in essence, be working, or training, for free.

But they will receive a $100 per week stipend to be used for transportation, child care and other expenses.

“Employers will take advantage of it,” said Keith Thomas, business manager for the Atlanta and North Georgia Building Trades Council, an AFL-CIO affiliate. “From a business perspective, it’s just a way to utilize the workforce without having to put anything into it.”

Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, who created Georgia Works in 2003, said the program’s expansion is needed to create full-time jobs. The Labor Department reported Thursday that the jobless rate rose to 10 percent in August.

Officially, 466,930 Georgians can’t find work. Yet thousands of additional Georgians are unemployed but not listed on state jobless rolls. They’re formerly self-employed or got fired from jobs or have simply exhausted their unemployment benefits – and aren’t eligible, until now, for Georgia Works.

Since 2003, according to Thurmond, 63 percent of Georgia Works’ participants (3,500 people) were hired upon completion of their six-week training program. And, during that time, only five employers (out of 6,000) were found to have abused the program.