BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer
For more than two years, Ernest Coney, Jr., Chief Operating Officer for the CDC of Tampa, has talked to businesses in the area in an effort to create a system where jobs could be created.
It was announced last Thursday that an on-the-job training program has been developed.
The program will hire 20 East Tampa residents in permanent positions at Enviro Focus Technologies, a battery recycling center on Broadway and 66th Street
East Tampa Development Manager, Ed Johnson, said the formal agreement and a request for funding will be prepared and submitted to the CRA board for approval at their February 10th meeting.
“The agreement will be between the CDC of Tampa and Enviro Focus. All of the technical language is being worked out now, and if everything follows schedule and the CRA board approves the agreement, the program should start in March.”
Johnson said a series of job fairs will be held and the 20 applicants will be selected form that process.
The East Tampa Community Revitalization Partnership will use $36,000 ($1,800 per hiree) of Tax Increment Finance (TIF) dollars to prepare the applicants for the process.
ETCRP Chairperson, Evangeline Best, said 20 jobs are on the table for now, but their plan is to let the process continue and more jobs be added in the future.
[private]“The success of the first group will depend on whether more will be added later. Councilman Scott has gone on record as saying he wants to see more companies get involved in this process and make even more jobs available.
“The motto for the project will be, ‘Jobs On The Way Through The CRA.’ East Tampa is developing the model that we’re sure other CRAs will be picking up on.”
Ms. Best said in her opinion, Coney deserves all the credit for making this possible.
“He just never quit or took no for an answer. He kept going back when doors were closed in his face, and kept calling when calls weren’t being returned. It was his persistence that made this possible.”
The responsibility of the CDC will be job fair/recruitment, applicant processing, orientation workshop, “Steppin’ Stones”: Weeklong training, and 9-months of tracking applicants.
The employer responsibilities will be to participate in recruitment and interviewing, hire applicants, provide training in safety, forklift certification, lead certification, and 90-day OJT: skill specific, and retention (work with CDC tracking and supporting applicant).
Each hiree will be paid $1,200 in 3 installments at 90 days, 6 months, and 9 months. The CDC will provide $600 per hiree after services have been provided by the employer.[/private]
