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February 24, 2006     Barnstable Patriot
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February 24, 2006
 
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WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD By David Augustinho A few months ago I mentioned that the Cape&Islands Work- force Investment Board had received a grant to train up to 40 low-income individuals into healthcare administra- tive careers.The funding was made available through an economic stimulus bill that the state legislature passed in 2004. Today I want to provide you with an update on the progress of our grant. The Cape and Islands WIB formed the BayState- Works Health- care Partner- ship in order to increase the skills of under and unem- ployed individuals. Once trained these individuals are ready to gain entry level positions or advancement in the health field if they are already employed in health care. At the same time the intent is to alleviate job va- cancies at the employer part- ner organizations. Members of our partnership include: Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board , Cape Cod Hospital , Falmouth Hospital , Visiting Nurse Association , Medical As- sociates of Cape Cod, Com- munity Action Committee, Cape and Islands, Career Opportunities,Job Training and Employment Corpora- tion, ACCESS (Cape Cod CommunityCollege), Upper Cape Cod Regional Techni- cal High School, Creative Workplace, Cape Cod Eco- nomic Development Council and SEIU, Local 2020.1 can't stress the importance of the partnership enough. The contributions of each of the partners is what is making this such a successful train- ing program. Forthe past year forty- five eligibleindividuals received free traininginIntroduction to Health Care,Medical Ter- minology, Math Skills, and Computer Literacy Training. In addition to this classroom experience our trainees also participated in Job Shadow- ing activities and worked in a paid internship position. Graduates of this program also had the opportunity to take Medical Transcription and Medical Administrative Assistant. As a result of this program, nine people have already found jobs and three others have received promotions. Thisprogramhas changed lives, I'll tell you about a couple of examples: Prior to joining our Bay- StateWorks Healthcare Training Program, Rebecca Fluker was employed within a social services agency in a Program Support position where her job was to cook, clean and provide taxi ser- vice. Shewant- ed to do some- thingmore with the rest of her life. She always loved the whole office environ- ment, but how could she get into that line of work without formal educa- tion in this field? College courses were out of the question due to the finan- cial strain it would put on her already tight budget. One day a colleague told Rebecca about our Medi- cal Administration Course that was being offered at no cost to its participants. Rebecca says, "I am very grateful to have been able to participate in this program, and hope to see it continue, so that others may be given the same opportunity Ihave been given. The education I have received thus far will serve me well in my future employment and has pre- pared me for a career in Medical Administration". Rebecca became employed as a Switchboard Operator withinthe Cape Cod Health- care organization this past November andjust recently has been promoted to Clini- cal Coordinator. Kathleen Vanderhoop,an- other participant,wasunex- pectedly laid offfrom herjob due to a slow down in busi- ness at a large established Commercial Construction Company, where she had been employed for five years. Wanting a career change, she started vy investigat- ing the local job market . Kathleenshared herinterest in the booming healthcare industry on Cape Cod with an employee at the Com- munity Action Committee of Cape Cod and the Islands, Inc.; subsequently this em- ployee took the initiative to refer Kathleen to Career Opportunities in Hyannis. CONTINUED ON PAGE A:9 BayStateWorks Healthcare Partnership Gift establishes Cotton Center for Real Estate Studies at CCCC By Kathleen Manwaring kmanwaring@barnstablepatriot.com THE FABRIC0FTHE COMMUNITY-Jack Cotton addressestheaudienceafterpresentingCCCC witha$100,000gift that willhelpto establish theJack CottonCenter for RealEstate Studies at the college. When people talk real estate on Cape Cod, a very well known name is Jack Cotton. On Tuesday Cotton and his wife, Ann Marie, presented Cape Cod Community College with agift of $100,000 to establish the Cotton Center for RealEstate Studies at the college. "His name has been synonymous with real estate on CapeCod for decades,"said college President Kathleen Schatzberg. "We're honored, really, that Jack has chosen to support this center." In a presentation Tuesday morning in the Lobby of the Tilden Arts Center, Cotton explained that his devotion to the business of real estate on the Cape runs deep. "From the time I was building my first homesintrees andundertrees,real estate has always been more than a job, more than a career.It has been a calling," said Cotton in a brief speech. "The most im- portant financial decision afamilymakes is to buy or sell a home." Inspired by the success of the Zammer Institute for Hospitality and Culinary Studies at the college, Cotton felt that his gift would be a way for him to give back to the local community. "This has been in the back of my mind for awhile,"he said. "AnythingIcando to help other people elevates everyone." Cotton's gift and the creation of the center will allow for the expansion and augmentation of the current real estate program offered by the college through their Workforce Education Resource Center. "We have always had some courses here,"explained Schatzberg. "Nowwewill be able to package and market things in a more cohesive way." The funds willbe split in order toutilize them most effectively,withapproximately half going toward seminars and training opportunitiesfor real estateprofessionals, revisedand expanded courses,additional certifications for those inreal estate, and an annual forum featuring a nationally known speaker of interest in the real es- tate industry.A logo and Web site for the center are also in development . The remainingportion of the funds will be used as an endowment to fund the program in the future. Schatzberg also acknowledged that the collegewelcomes additional donations toward the center. "The college is able to enhance its programming and community outreach efforts because of the generosity and kindnessofpeople likethe Cotton family," said Schatzberg. "Thisgenerosity of spirit hasallowed us ... to better meet our mission and serve our community." "Jack has a history of generosity," CONTINUED ON PAGE A:9 From real estate to real education Nationally, numbers show strength By Alan Pollock business@barnstablepatriot.com CHATHAM — Despite pub- lic fears about the national debt and unemployment, the nation's economic prognosis issanguine,one local financial expert told Cape Codbusiness leaders last Thursday. But the state's economy continues to feel the effect of a population decline, she noted. Maureen Kelliher, chief fi- nancial officer for Citizens Bank Investment Manage- ment Services,gave her analy- sis at the annual economic forecast breakfast , held by the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce at Chatham Bars Inn. She said the nation is likely to experience the same kind of steady, sustainable economic growth in 2006 as it saw in 2005. While state economic data are not yet available for 2005, Massachusetts is also expe- riencing steady economic performance. Between 2001 and 2003, the state lost more jobs than any other, a situ- ation which turned around in 2004. "But the population con- tinues to decline, and that's a concern,"Kelliher said. She noted a net out-migration of workers, linked to the high cost and low availability of housing, rising health care costs, and taxes, and said the economy cannot grow mark- edly without enough workers and consumers. John O'Brien of Harwich, former CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, said Barnstable County contin- ues to be economically well positioned. "I think we're weathering the storm a little better than the [rest of the] state,"he said. O'Brien said the public sector has finally seen the wisdom of investing in the tourism industry, instead of focusing entirely on technology and light industry. "Tourism, globally, is the number one industry," Kel- liher said. The Cape is at an advantage because it isattrac- tive toretiring Baby Boomers, who come to the region at the peak of their lifetime earnings and savings. From around the world and particularly Eu- rope , there is an influx of new tourists , including visitors from Russia and China. "You are basically expand- ing the tourist base continu- ally,"the CFO said. Massachusetts also con- tinues to see a robust hous- ing market because of the limited supply of new homes, and in communities around the state, zoning restrictions are being loosened to allow more multi-family housing developments, Kelliher said. Without that, she observed , "you just don't have enough lower-cost homes to be able to attract some of the support workers you need to sustain some of the industries." The top end of the housingmarket has come off, "but other than that, the traditional housing market is doing extremely well," Kelliher said. Massachusetts alsocontin- ues to profit from historically low interest rates and a well- educated workforce,however, and the state remains a wel- coming place for technology and niche manufacturing, according to Kelliher. When it comes to the lu- crative retirement sector of the economy, Cape Cod and 1 the rest of Massachusetts is competing with other retire- ment destinationslike Florida and Nevada, which have tax strategies that benefit people who are on fixed incomes. "They've incentivized re- tirees to stay with them" by not taxingpensions, and even waiving state or sales taxes, Kelliher said. Overall, the U.S. economy grew 3.1 percent in 2005 , downslightly from 3.8 percent in 2004, propelled by bet- ter-than-expected numbers for the housing and retail markets. After the economic downturn of 1999 and 2000, "companies weren't really spending, " Kelliher noted. They spent time "retooling their balance sheets," sav- ing some money, and are now hiring new workers and increasing capital spending, she said. In the last year, job growth CONTINUED ON PAGE A:9 THE ECONOMY: State population loss a concern fiW_ Uinternet services Save over $1,000/year with our Small Business Plan! ff^fBBWM||A No Contracts • No Hidden Fees ¦No Taxes I H One Call, One Bill Convenience S J J H ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ B All this is included FREE: J^ ^^ ^ ^^ ^T^ ^ ^ ^ B . SpamNabber Call Waiting ¦ B H H H H H H ^ ^ ^ ^ B Virus Filters Call Forwarding B . 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