Members of a Lexington council committee got an update this week on efforts to link workers with jobs that are in demand. Some $150,000 was appropriated for workforce development which resulted in the job placement of 105 people.
Budget Committee Chair Kevin Stinnett says that means new revenues for the local government. “We often talk in payroll tax dollars in terms of getting meaningful investment. So, we invest $150,000. At your 105 placements at average of median at $10.28, that’s $2.3 million in payroll and that $50,516 in payroll tax,” said Stinnett.
Workforce Development Manager Elodie Dickinson says the ideal scenario for spending $300,000 this year in workforce training would be to place more than 200 people. “We talk about job retention measures. How can we get people to come back and get services. How can we get people to report what they are doing, if they are still in the same job. The job retention information is what people want to know too,” noted Dickinson.
The past year’s job placements came in areas like culinary services, nursing, and fiber optic installation.
