The City of Myrtle Beach may help fund a new job training program for unemployed people in the city.
On Tuesday, City Council will decide whether to dedicate funding to Horry Georgetown Technical College’s Train to Work MB. The free job training program would start in April, and last two to four weeks long. The city would donate $40,000, and HGTC would match that donation, which would cover instructional costs, materials, and possible stipends for people in certain training programs.
“We recognize, when we’re doing our research, that there’s a huge population out here in the Myrtle Beach area that really could use some assistance,” said Gregory Mitchell, Vice President of Workforce Development and Continued Education at HGTC. He said he wants to help break down barriers to entering the workforce. “We have employers constantly telling us, hey we have these jobs opening, and the people applying don’t have the skills. There’s a skill gap.”
Train to Work MB would provide basic training for jobs in several fields including retail, hospitality, nursing, culinary arts, and plumbing and electric. Only city residents will be eligible to apply during the first year of the program, but Mitchell hopes to eventually open the program to the whole county. “These are starter jobs. We recognize people are going to want more than that, but what we’re trying to do is identify those barriers, address those barriers, and get these folks into the workplace,” he said.
According to Cookie Goings, Myrtle Beach Neighborhood Services Director, one of those barriers is transportation. However, Coast RTA will provide vouchers to anyone participating in the program who needs a ride. “Transportation, or lack of transportation, will not be an issue,” she said.
Though the program is open to people of all ages, Goings hopes Train to Work MB will also help provide career counseling to teens and young adults in need of direction. “Those young persons who have not yet made a decision, we can come in and be agents of change and help them and make those final decisions about higher education.”
Registration for Train to Work MB begins in April. For more information you can call the HGTC Continuing Education office at (843) 477-2020.
