PENDLETON — The impact of COVID-19 has left many people without a job or in need of new skills across the nation. The Training and Employment Consortium has funding available to aid adults and youth who have lost a job or are looking for work.

TEC encompasses an eight-county area — Baker, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa — to provide a variety of career and training services.

“Our ultimate goal is employment and to have living wage jobs for people,” Taining & Employment Consortium Workforce Program Manager Tara Bishop said.

TEC focuses on adults who are looking for or have been dislocated from their job and young adults trying to enter the workforce.

Training can take on many forms, from classes through a college, on-the-job training or help with job search and skill assessment. TEC pays a portion of an individual’s wages during on-the-job training until they are hired by an employer.

WorkSource Centers offer staff-assisted talent development workshops to teach essential skills for work readiness.

As technology and demands shift, employees are often asked to do new or advanced tasks that require more training. TEC can help ease the financial burden as employees gain the necessary skills and remain part of the workforce. Bishop said training and assistance lasts no more than two years.

WorkSource Center offices have been closed because of COVID-19, but Bishop and her staff continue to help through virtual consultations.

“We do an assessment with them to see what their skill level is, and that is different for each individual,” Bishop said. “It can be a conversation, a proficiency test or something else. It just depends on the individual. We will do career planning with them, and if they need additional training we work with them.

“We can do everything virtually that we could do face to face.”

The young adult program can help individuals get their GED, learn life skills and obtain paid work experience.

“Our first goal is to get them back into school, but we can help them with their GEDs,” Bishop said. “We do work experiences with our youth. We pay them but we place them in a business and that business helps train with those soft skills so they learn to get to work on time and how to provide proper customer service.”

Help also is available for resume writing and basic computer skills.

The Incumbent Worker Training Program restarted last year with a focus on businesses working with current employees to train them in advanced skills to keep them employed and productive.

“This funding is for the businesses to provide the necessary training,” Bishop said. “We have seen this in the medical field with people continuing in a master’s program or they have a [certified nursing assistant] and they want to become a registered nurse.”

Priority is given to businesses that demonstrate that funding could assist in avoiding layoffs, downsizing or closure.

For more information, call program manager Tara Bishop at 541-377-6209 or email tbishop@tecteam.org.