Spanning the Region

Finding Solutions for Unemployed Workers through Learning and Partnerships

As jobs disappear in the St. Louis area, St. Louis Community College is attempting to find solutions for the unemployed who are willing to work but cannot spend a year or two learning a new trade or skill set. Many newly unemployed workers, now in their 30s and 40s, have always been gainfully employed; they have families to support, children in college and a mortgage. To help address these needs, St. Louis Community College, in partnership with all of its campuses, created the Corporate Center to provide solutions, which include:

• Accelerated job training—short-term industry programs designed to help retrain adults for in-demand occupations in health care, information technology, sustainability and advanced manufacturing
• Lifelong learning solutions—high-quality, short-term educational offerings to prepare individuals for professional licensure or certification, update skills for career advancement and assist unemployed or retired workers to explore career transitions and second careers
• Small business development—technical assistance, training, shared resources and, in some cases, incubation to assist small business growth, development and deployment
• Talent acquisition—human resource services including recruitment, screening, referrals and job placement for employers and job seekers in partnership with the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) and the St. Louis County Department of Human Services, Division of Workforce Development Services
• Workplace performance—training and consulting services to help clients enhance the business performance of their employees and processes

Currently slated to open in the summer of 2011, the new center will be located close to I-70 and I-270, where St. Louis Community College is renovating an office building. The state-of-the-art facility will include flexible lab space, seminar/conference breakout rooms, computer-training labs and a certification testing center. To find out more about the Corporate Center, visit www.stlcc.edu/Workforce_Development/Corporate_Center.html.

NSP Projects Approved for CRA Credit

Based on strong public support and comments, federal financial institution regulators have made a change to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) to help communities better handle foreclosures. Banks are encouraged to support neighborhood stabilization activities and may receive favorable CRA consideration for loans, investments and services to support Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) efforts.

The NSP was created by Congress in 2008 as a tool for dealing with the spillover effects of foreclosures. Federal money is used to buy, fix up and resell foreclosed and abandoned houses. CRA consideration is not limited to projects actually receiving funds and may include other eligible activities in an NSP plan area.

Neighborhood Stabilization Programs 1-3 in Eighth District States

For additional information, please visit www.hud.gov/nspta.