PIC PROGRAM AIDS IN SHORTAGE OF EMPLOYEES

Ron Swift, interim executive director of the Southeast Missouri Private Industry Council (PIC), is encouraging employers to consider using the job-training programs offered through the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) as a means of easing employee shortages in the area.

"We read and hear of the need for more employees in our region," Swift said. "Southeast Missouri is experiencing the same phenomena that much of the rest of the nation faces -- a shrinking work force.

"We also hear of employer efforts to advertise nationally to attract people to our area to take these jobs," he added. "We can offer some alternatives."

Employers who joined the JTPA program can help alleviate their employee shortages, he noted. "There are many ways JTPA and employers can work together to produce good employees if sufficient time is allowed."

Employers in Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry counties can contact the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission at 1-800-444-5872, or 651-6676 to learn how the programs can benefit them.

Information is also available at PIC, 334-0990; the Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School, 334-3358; and at the Cape Girardeau office of the Division of Employment Security, 290-5766.