Playing Matchmaker To Empty Jobs And Those Seeking Them
The easiest time to get hired at one of the seven oil refineries in the Los Angeles area is during what's called a turnaround. These breaks, when the refineries are shut down for routine maintenance, are incredibly labor-intensive. And refineries want to get them done as quickly as possible.
So companies need enough people to get the job done. But those workers must have specific skills.
In this line of work, as with other U.S. industries, there's a skills gap.
The unemployment rate is down to 6.3 percent, but that's partly because 800,000 people dropped out of the labor force in April. Meanwhile, employers like the Southern California refineries are sifting through hundreds of applications and not finding anyone who's qualified to do the vacant jobs.
The key to closing that gap comes down to training. In the L.A. area, training programs are working with the local industry to meet its needs, while offering prospective employees certification, for free.
Building A Better Kind Of Program
At the refinery contractor Veolia, Steve Martinez is in charge of hiring for turnarounds.
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