Tech center chief speaks to chamber

The Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center operates a "boot camp for the unemployed" that has helped participants land jobs, center director Rich Payne said Friday.

"Most of these individuals are unemployed, underemployed or laid off," Payne told a crowd of about 150 people at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce First Friday Coffee at the Show Me Center.

The center has managed the federally funded Workplace Readiness Credential Project for over a year, Payne said.

The Workforce Investment Board and Southeast Missouri State University are partners in the project, which includes a two-week workplace readiness class that teaches participants about everything from showing up to work on time to interview skills and resume writing.

Following that two-week class, participants can enroll in one of a dozen technical skills classes, ranging from emergency medical technician to welding.

More than 150 students from Southeast Missouri have gone through the program since it began and most have obtained jobs, Payne said after the meeting.