PROGRAM TO HELP CURB UNEMPLOYMENT IN SIX BOOTHEEL COUNTIES IS UNDER WAY

MALDEN -- Businesses in Missouri's Bootheel are finding it increasingly tougher to hire well-trained, conscientious employees, says the executive director of the Bootheel Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission.

A new program that will find and train employees for business may help to solve the problem, and it will provide needed jobs in an area with a high rate of unemployment.

"Our true mission on this is economic development," said Dan Bollinger, the commission's executive director. The commission is at Malden.

Bollinger said the program, funded by a $124,000 state grant, is for people ages 16 to 21 who may or may not have graduated from high school. He said the unemployment rate for youths in Southeast Missouri is usually higher than for other workers.

The counties served by the program are Scott, Stoddard, Mississippi, New Madrid, Dunklin and Pemiscot.

The commission will take displaced workers and assess their skills, Bollinger said. They will then try to place them in a job that matches those skills.

"We also train them to be good employees," he said. "That's one of the major problems with youth; they don't have the know-how to go out and take a job and be successful at it."

Bollinger said the program teaches the importance of punctuality, responsibility and dedication.

"We do a lot of assessment on individuals to find out what they want to do and are able to do," he said.

Youths who will be served by the program include those who have recently graduated from high school or have dropped out. Bollinger said the commission will urge those who haven't completed high school to enroll in adult basic-education classes and earn their GED.

Bollinger said employers in the lower six Southeast Missouri counties have trouble finding good workers for minimum or near-minimum wage jobs.

"They can put an ad in the newspaper trying to fill a $5-an-hour job and get 150 to 200 applicants. They get plenty of bodies but they can't get good employees. This program will help with that."

The average unemployment rate in Missouri is 6 percent. For Stoddard, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot and Dunklin counties, the rate is more than 8 percent. The unemployment rate in Scott County is 7.3 percent.

Bollinger said that through the program the commission will assist in placing at least 50 workers in the six counties over the next year. He said workers likely will take jobs in factories and service industries.

"We want to get people off the welfare roles and onto the tax roles by getting them good employment," he said.

Businesses or individuals interested in the program may contact Debbie Grogan or Barbara Robinson at the commission at 276-5577.