FILE – In this June 23, 2014, file photo, a recruiter, at left, takes the resume of an applicant during a job fair, in Philadelphia. On Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits the week before. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)Four-point plan
Mayor Andy Berke’s new workforce development plan would hit on four areas:› Ladders to the middle class› Neighborhood talent pipeline› Jobs, not jail› Skills for the 21st century
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke plans to create a new Office of Workforce Development to oversee efforts to put more people to work and boost the skills and pay of those already employed.
“Training helps people help themselves,” Berke said in unveiling a four-point workforce development plan on Wednesday. “As we look to build more paths to the middle class, this allows people to access the skills they need for today’s jobs.”
The initiative, released by the mayor’s re-election campaign, includes offering jobs services which target neighborhoods with high unemployment, veterans and people with criminal pasts.
He said the city could use the youth and family development centers located in neighborhoods as training sites. Berke said the city could partner with other entities to offer both technical training in fields such as health care, manufacturing and appliance repair and so-called soft skills, including résumé writing.