GATE program for laid-off workers

Posted on 20/9/5/13

SOURCE: TABOR-LORIS TRIBUNE

Laid-offrural workers interested in starting their own business are the focusof a new U.S. Department of Labor demonstration project available nowthrough the JobLink Career Center at Southeastern Community College.

Project GATE (Growing America Through Entrepreneurship) targetsdislocated workers from rural counties for a variety of assistancedirectly related to starting and running a business. "This program hasthe potential to do far more than provide a source of income forindividuals who have lost jobs," says Billy Ray Hall, president of theN.C. Rural Economic Development Center. "It can help us build homegrowneconomies in struggling communities all across the state."

Unemploymentin North Carolina's 85 rural counties hit 12.3 percent in February.Seventeen rural counties had jobless rates of 15 percent or higher.Columbus County's unemployment rate for February was 14.3 percent.

Rural unemployment can be attributed in large part to continuinglayoffs and closings by textile, furniture and other traditionalmanufacturers, Hall says. With other jobs scarce, self-employment mayhelp keep rural workers in their communities. That potential isreflected in the growing numbers of dislocated workers expressinginterest in creating their own job or small business.

Project GATE willoperate as a scholarship program, with up to 750 scholarships likely tobe awarded in North Carolina. Those selected for the program will beeligible for individual assessment of entrepreneurial skills, businessand entrepreneurship courses, and focused, one-on-one businesscounseling. Participants also will be introduced to a statewide networkof business resource professionals. Those who complete workable businessplans will be eligible to apply for microenterprise loans.

In NorthCarolina, Project GATE is being offered as a cooperative venture of theN.C. Department of Commerce, the N.C. Community College System - SmallBusiness Center Network, the Employment Security Commission of NorthCarolina, North Carolina REAL Enterprises, local JobLink Career Centersand the Rural Center.

Dislocated workers may participate through a"virtual site" that includes counseling by telephone and onlinetraining programs combined with training and business counseling atSoutheastern Community College. Interested? Visit the Columbus CountyJobLink Career Center at SCC. Officials there which will help determineeligibility.

For details contact the Columbus County JobLink CareerCenter at 910-642-7141, ext. 261 or visit the Center at SCC onChadbourn Hwy. near Whiteville.