By Dianne Anderson

Ask most anyone where the jobs are, and there’s not a lot of wiggle room for an answer. Unemployment is hitting 25 percent in some communities, bringing the surge of joblessness to over 14 million last summer, with over seven million in the past two years alone.

It’s a hard number for freshly trained Renee Abhold, mother of two small children, to get around. Soon, her Workforce Investment Act grant will run out, which got her through a nice summer job training at the Provisional Accelerated Learning Center, but that time is nearly over. “They cut my hours back already, it’s only 15 a week,” she said, adding that they’ve cut back her cash aid and food stamps to $300 a month, which she works off with 12 hours in community service.

“I live with my mom and give her $200 for rent. With the other money I just buy diapers,” said Abhold, who turns 24 years old next week. She says she has learned many new skills since May when she started the WIA program at the center. So far, she’s knocking on every door, but there’s no answer.

Currently, she’s waiting for her GED diploma, which she received along with job training in entry level office work. She describes herself as motivated, responsible and a quick learner. “I would do whatever I could do to get the job done, if I didn’t know something, I can learn. I’ll do whatever it takes,” she said.

So far, much of the stimulus dollars have come down to the nation’s bigger agencies to handle large shovel-ready infrastructure projects, like road repair, waterways, energy and transit, but many people on the street are still waiting for work.

Dr. Henry, executive director and founder of the PAL Center, said that she doesn’t know where to send her adult job seekers who need work. The youth program has been great to get the kids started, and employers utilize the youths as long as she continues to pay their training through the program. When it comes to employers hiring permanently, there’s still a hole in the system.

Her WIA summer youth program to train 14- to 24-year-olds has ended. The county’s year- round program is only for older out of school residents 18 to 21 years old. Abhold falls in that gray area. “Renee is an excellent worker,” Dr. Henry said. “We cannot roll her over. It breaks my heart; we’re going to have to let her go.”

Sandy Harmsen, executive director of the Workforce Investment Board, said the best place for adult workers over age 18 is to get channeled into training in their nearest county Resource Center. She said all workforce investment dollars are designated for training only, not the creation of actual jobs, noting that resource centers are mandated to work with businesses to get workers trained to meet the needs of local business.

Of the $15.8 million stimulus funding allocated by the federal government in February 2009, the program reports $11.7 million went for local workforce training, business retention and youth work. The remaining $4.1 million is committed for additional training next year.

Since January 94,188 residents received material from Resource Center, she said, but only 12,770 residents fully utilized what the program has to offer. In the past, she estimates 80% of the residents who made full use of the program gained employment. Harmsen said that about 75 percent of those at work in San Bernardino County are employed by the private sector. The target for stimulus dollars is to keep those businesses going with short and long term training for in-demand industry sectors.

Even so, it’s hard to tell how many people who pass through the Resource Center actually get jobs. The federal program and data comes down to local areas about twice a year after the state reviews social security numbers. That data has yet to come.

“That’s not something available in our system,” she said. “Unfortunately we don’t have that capability.”

Currently, the Workforce Investment Board has 20 business resources specialists that target 44 new businesses each month out of the 62,000 small businesses across the county, she said. They look for what businesses need, and who is hiring.

The team identified about 1,500 jobs this month currently open for hire. “That’s quite an accomplishment to have that many jobs open in the system on a monthly basis,” she said. But if it’s any indication, about 7,000 residents come looking for work monthly at the Resource Center.

Additionally, Harmsen said they also partner with Monster jobs, other county, city and state agencies in the public and private sector. “It’s going to take time, I think we’re not through this yet,” Harmsen said of the economy and unemployment crisis. She added that they work closely with the Economic Development Agency, targeting upgrading workers’ skills to match growth by industry sector.

The center has been working with Southern California Logistics and Aviation, machine shop and mechanics training for airplanes, which is a strong sector. They are also focused on the health care industry, getting people back to school, on the job training for registered nurses.

“Those sectors told us that they are still going to be hiring, they’re looking for trained employees now and hiring in the future,” she said. For more information on training and locations, see http://sbcounty.gov/wib/