The local workforce was given a boost when Southeastern was given a grant in the amount of $91,000.

The grant money was provided by the U.S. Department of Labor and was written by Southeastern’s Division of Extended Studies and the Southeast Louisiana Business Center.

The money provided through the grant will help make professional development and training classes available to employers, employees and the unemployed in this region. This is done through the Division of Extended Studies’ career enrichment courses and program. The Career Enrichment Program courses one can sign up for span for a total of 15 hours and are only offered to residents in Livingston, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington Parishes.

Persons interested in signing up for the courses must be 17 or older, eligible to work in the U.S., committed to completing the course and to be an active participant.

After the program and classes are over, the staff at the Division of Extended Studies will do follow ups to gauge participant success, according to Charlotte Collins, project manager and program developer for the career enrichment programs.

Employers that want to send employees to these courses can expect staff to come back with better knowledge in areas such as customer service, communication, safety and confidence on the job.

“I believe that the grant program to assist in employee training is an asset to the region in promoting economic development,” said Dawn Sharpe-Brackett, chief executive officer of the East St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce. “Employee training is vital to the continuing success of local businesses. Strong customer service has proven to create repeat customers.  Even if you have the best employees, continued education and reminders of work ethics, is always beneficial. I am excited that Southeastern Louisiana University has this program available to assist local businesses.”

Employees are also able to individually sign up for the courses to become more skilled in their specific areas.

For the unemployed in this region, the professional development and training courses will help improve resumes and will help build conversational skills to help with job interviews.

Since these courses are funded through a grant, the class, books and testing come at no cost to the participants.

Career enrichment courses have been held, and the grant money will aid in the continuance of these courses into next summer.

The next class is centered on customer service and will take place some time in October. It will take place on two consecutive Mondays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hampton Inn in Denham Springs, La.

More information on the career enrichment program and courses and registration can be found by contacting Charlotte Collins by phone at 1-800-256-2771 or e-mail at [email protected].