News release, May 17, 2000A

Georgia Department of Labor - Press Release
Georgia Department of
Labor
Suite 642 148 International Boulevard N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1751 (404)656-3032

May 17, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

$400,000 IN ONE-STOP GRANTS AWARDED TO SEVERAL METRO ATLANTA ORGANIZATIONS AS PART OF A NEW WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM

ATLANTA -- State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said today that the Georgia Department of Labor is rapidly moving toward the development of a more consumer-oriented employment services system that will be more efficient and cost-effective to all Georgians.

The new "one-stop" system will weave all of the employment-related services the state offers into one customer-focused, user-friendly system that can help every Georgian have a successful career and every Georgia business have a skilled workforce.

As part of this new workforce development system, Commissioner Thurmond said that 17 public and private entities in the metro Atlanta area have been awarded grants totaling about $400,000 to connect them to the state's electronic workforce development infrastructure.

"These grants provide an opportunity to expand the electronic service network more deeply into local communities, ensuring that services are made accessible to customers who are most interested in them, whether those customers are individuals or businesses," Thurmond said. "These grants will also allow local partnerships to be broadened beyond those programs required by the original one-stop initiative. Internet connections, more web-based products, and customer self-service capabilities are important elements of this technological expansion. This will give a system that is more useful to jobseekers and employers as they strive to reach their full potential."

The grants are part of $850,000 in federal funds used to expand Georgia's one-stop initiative into local communities, as a part of the state's emerging workforce development system. Georgia's workforce development system is designed to develop a better educated and more highly-skilled and well-trained workforce for the state.

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Georgia Department of Labor - Press Release

In the metro Atlanta area, the organizations receiving the grants include: Antioch Urban Ministries, Buckhead Christian Ministry, City of Carrollton Housing Authority, Clayton College and State University, Clayton County Extension Services, Crossroads Community Ministries, Georgia Perimeter College, Griffin-Spalding Chamber of Commerce, Job Coalition Network Association, Literacy Action, Inc., Love Links, Inc., Lutheran Ministries of Georgia, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Inc., the Winder-Barrow Coalition for Adult and Continuing Education, and the Departments of Family and Children Services in Clayton, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties.

For additional information about the program, contact the local organization or Cathy Page in the labor department's state office at (404) 656-6777.

NEWS MEDIA NEEDING MORE INFORMATION MAY CALL (404) 656-3032.

E-mail: communications@dol.state.ga.us.

FY-00-510

An Equal Opportunity Employer

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