Delgado provides free, discounted programs to aid job recovery

By Manuel Scherif
Contributing Writer

New Orleans remains one of the hardest hit parts of the state in 2021, losing some 37,300 jobs in 2020 as the pandemic impacted industries like tourism, services, casinos and oil and gas exploration.

While the country is expected to recover in overall unemployment in 2022, experts anticipate the New Orleans Metropolitan area will fall short of a full recovery, according to the Louisiana Economic Outlook report by Louisiana State University economics professors Loren Scott and Greg Upton. The state as a whole was down 105,400 jobs by the end of last year and experts say it is important that workers are prepared to reenter the job market.

Delgado Community College is offering free short-term training programs in partnership with GNO Inc., Verizon and Generation USA to work to provide expertise to help New Orleans residents work in in-demand areas during the pandemic. These areas include information technology and digital marketing. The programs range 10 to 12 weeks, are online and free depending on availability.

“We hope that by training local talent, we’re addressing IT workforce needs in our region,” said Krystal James, Delgado’s Workforce Development and Technical Education manager. “By discounting the [Information Technology] Fundamentals and SAFe Scrum Master training programs, New Orleanians will be motivated to take the action necessary to start or advance their careers in [information technology],” James said.

The community college is offering an online, free Information Technology Help Desk Technician program, and a Digital Marketing Analyst program. It has discounted its Information Technology Fundamentals program that runs through March 2021. Students who complete the program will be prepared to take the certification exams needed to secure information technology help desk positions that are available throughout the region, particularly during the pandemic.

“Thanks to the Reboot Louisiana grant, the program has been discounted to $400, which would have otherwise been $1,500,” said Makala Blake, a communications consultant. “Furthermore, Delgado is offering a payment plan for interested participants to pay $250 now and the remaining balance by Feb. 1.” The program is held online, in the afternoons, four days a week, Blake said.

Economists anticipate the state can recover 90 percent of lost jobs by the end of 2022, but the impact of COVID-19 will still leave the state 11,300 jobs lost from the pandemic, the LSU report stated. The quick dissemination of a vaccine and an increase in oil and gas operations can speed up the state’s job recovery, experts noted.

The institution said in response, it can support this recovery through workforce training and has adapted its programming to deliver instruction that is both timely and responsive to the current needs for job skill retooling, James said. They hope that in 2020, newly certified workers can find employment in new fields, in higher paying jobs that will ultimately cut unemployment in the metro area. These new programs also aim to meet the needs of the new normal as businesses adapt their delivery of services as a result of the pandemic.

“Delgado’s Workforce Development and Technical Education Unit strives to provide the best in class information technology education and certification courses for the New Orleans area in the most affordable and efficient ways possible,” James said.

This article originally published in the January 25, 2021 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.