Industry Councils Escape Budget Knife

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Despite the well-publicized cutbacks in the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act's programs, one CETA project is in no danger of getting axed by the Administration: The Private Sector Initiative Program under Title VII serves one of the White House's favorite constituents -- private sector business.

Under the program, private industry councils in every state help train unemployed or economically disadvantaged people in skills required by specific employers. The councils either reimburse companies that hire and train CETA participants for up to 50% of that employee's wages over a given period, or that set up, operate, and fund their own training programs, based on the needs of local employers.

In Wisconsin, for example, the state's Private Sector Initiative Program has worked with about 300 businesses in the last year, over 80% of them small companies. "We try to tailor the program to meet the needs of the employer," says the Wisconsin program's executive director, Leslie M. Olson. "In a sense, everything we do is custom made."

One company that has benefited from the program is Continental Glass in Prairie Du Sac, Wis. The company hires only physically handicapped workers, and received $106,000 last year to train 40 glass blowers. The funds covered on-site training, salaries, and a portion of the materials used. "We're now thinking about opening a second plant in San Diego," says Continental's president Ken Kelly, who initially invested $250,000 in his year-old company. Continental's latest innovation is wedding-cake tops made of blown glass covered with silk flowers.

Workers stuck in entry level jobs and those who need to be retrained because of layoffs in their industries are also entitled to vocational training under Title VII. According to the Department of Labor, the program had about 60,000 participants enrolled in training during 1980.