To get people working again, Texas looks to Georgia

Georgia has figured out a way to get a bigger payoff from unemployment benefits, and the idea is spreading to Texas, albeit in a diluted form.

Called Georgia Works, the training program can operate as an extended job tryout that offers something for employers and job seekers alike.

For up to six weeks, companies can offer part-time work -- classified as training in order to comply with labor laws -- to anyone collecting unemployment insurance. And employers don't have to pay wages, benefits or workers comp.

Job candidates, who are typically required to accept any suitable work to keep state aid, can walk away from these auditions without risk of losing their remaining benefits.

"Unemployment insurance is a high cliff, and there's no room for error or exploration," says Michael Thurmond, commissioner of the Georgia Labor Department. "This program eliminates that worry, and that's especially important to people changing their careers."

For employers, the no-cost proposition is a no-lose way to test a promising candidate.

"Companies can't afford to be wrong in hiring these days, and this reduces that risk," Thurmond says.

Thurmond developed Georgia Works six years ago without funding or approval from state lawmakers or the governor. Almost 6,000 people have landed full-time positions, and he says that employers and the state have saved millions by reducing weekly unemployment payments.

Nearly 60 percent of participants convert the tryouts into a permanent post, and others benefit from making new contacts, sharpening skills and recirculating in the workplace.

Last month, Georgia expanded the program to all unemployed workers and started a marketing campaign. Thurmond says the goal is to funnel 10 percent of the state's unemployed, or about 30,000 people, into Georgia Works.

This is the kind of bright initiative that states are looking for today -- a way to get people working again and employers hiring without spending a lot more public money.

Last week, the Texas Workforce Commission began implementing a project that's partly modeled on Georgia Works. One big difference is that it's limited to people who previously made less than $15 an hour, or about $30,000 a year.

Called the Texas Back to Work Initiative, it gives five options to local work force boards to reach out to the unemployed. One operates like Georgia Works and may include a state stipend, if the board chooses. The Georgia program pays job seekers up to $50 a week to cover child care or transportation while training for the new post.

This year, the Texas Legislature approved $15 million for work force development. One-third is earmarked for apprenticeships, with the rest headed to the 28 local work force boards that coordinate training through the state.

"Georgia Works is a great program, and I'm a big fan, but it's no panacea," says Larry Temple, executive director of the Texas Workforce Commission in Austin.

Temple prefers to give local boards more choices and flexibility, because conditions are so varied in Texas. What boosts hiring in the Rio Grande Valley may not work in major metropolitan areas.

One option in the new initiative includes a state subsidy for private sector pay. Another proposes a retention bonus to employers that hire workers full time and retain them at least four months. There's also an open-ended choice -- any program that provides immediate relief and training

"It has to be a mix of what employers need," Temple says, noting that the approach hasn't come together yet, because local boards are just now getting details.

One appeal of Georgia Works is that it's simple and uniform, applying everywhere and for everyone. In Texas, the option may be adopted in Dallas County and rejected in Tarrant, or vice versa.

That adds complexity and confusion, in my view. But Temple says the state doesn't believe in a "top-down" approach.

"It's called local control," Temple says.

Ultimately, each local board will have to justify its choices with results. Temple says the goal is to help 15,000 jobless through the subsidies and training. In August, almost 609,000 Texans were receiving unemployment benefits.

While the Georgia Works option would appeal to some companies, many large corporations add only full-time employees, says Laurie Bouillion Larrea, president of Workforce Solutions for Greater Dallas.

"They're not interested in volunteers or anyone who's not being paid," she says. "They want everyone to be accountable. It's part of the culture."

For her board, largely composed of employers, the goal is to get the most return for the effort.

She believes the retention bonus will resonate with many companies, while the unpaid work experience -- what I call the extended tryout -- will have less appeal.

She notes that Georgia Works hasn't placed that many people compared with the total unemployed. But Thurmond believes the numbers will grow as the marketing push advances.

This recession has idled a lot more high-paid workers, and they're looking for any chance to get in the door. In Dallas, almost a third of this year's unemployment claimants were paid more than $40,000 annually. Larrea says that seven earned more than $1 million.

By offering to tryout for a new company or a new industry, they might get the ball rolling.

"If we scale up this program," Thurmond says, "we could end the jobless recovery."

If Georgia Works gets even close, Texas will have to expand its approach. Why limit the program to low-paid workers when so many others are locked out?

Mitchell Schnurman's column appears Sundays and Wednesdays. 817-390-7821