Abt Associates/Workforce Learning Strategies 1 

CAMBRIDGE WORKING DRAFT , MA 02138   CAMBRIDGE, MA 02140

NATIONAL EMERGENCY GRANT PROMISING PRACTICES SERIES:

EX ANDING P NEG TR ING AIN CAPACITY

THROUGH PA TNERSH R IPS W TI H COMMUNITY COLLEGES

PREPARED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BY:

ABT ASSOCIATES INC.    WORKFORCE LEARNING STRATEGIES

55 WHEELER STREET    5 TENNEY STREET

NATIONAL EMERGENCY GRANT PROMISING PRACTICES SERIES:

EXPANDING NEG TRAINING CAPACITY

THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY COLLEGES

PREPARED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BY:

ABT ASSOCIATES INC.    WORKFORCE LEARNING STRATEGIES

55 WHEELER STREET    5 TENNEY STREET

CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138   CAMBRIDGE, MA 02140

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ABOUT THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY GRANT PROMISING PRACTICES SERIES 

States and local areas that administer National Emergency Grants (NEGs) have developed a

growing body of expertise in the effective management of these grants.  The National

Emergency Grant Promising Practices Series is a compilation of ten documents whose purpose

is to highlight and share some exemplary approaches that were instrumental in preparing

for, planning, and implementing a NEG.  The intent of disseminating these effective

methodologies on a broad, national level is to facilitate the continuous improvement of NEG

project operations and to promote peer‐to‐peer information‐sharing among practitioners.  

The information presented in the NEG Promising Practices Series was gleaned from a study,

which focused on the in‐depth review of fifteen NEG projects that varied in type, size, and

scope.  Collectively, these projects represent an investment of $282,377,589 made by the

Department of Labor (DOL) that helped states assist dislocated workers obtain

reemployment in the aftermath of a large layoff or disaster‐related event.  The insights

shared by these grantees were synthesized for dissemination, resulting in a set of promising

practices that build upon four broad themes:

Infrastructure and Readiness.  How grantees have organized state and local

delivery systems to ensure effective and efficient use of NEG resources;

Planning and Start‐Up.  How grantees have mobilized key resources and

stakeholders to facilitate effective grant planning and implementation;

Program Design and Implementation.  What specific interventions and services have

been implemented to support the unique reemployment needs of dislocated

workers; and

Institutional Results.  How NEG investments have directly or indirectly resulted

in an enhanced capacity to respond to unexpected economic events.  

Listed below are the ten documents, which comprise the National Emergency Grant Promising

Practices Series.  Each review addresses a specific area of NEG management and has been

written to emphasize the specific planning, design, and operational decisions that

contributed to successful retraining and reemployment strategies.   

Working Across Boundaries in Planning a Regional NEG Response

Expanding NEG Training Capacity Through Partnerships with Community Colleges

Aligning NEG Strategies with High Growth Sectors and Occupations

Peer Support Systems that Strengthen Outreach and Participation

Preparing for the Unexpected in Disaster Grants

Establishing and Managing a Temporary Jobs Program

Implementing Transition Teams to Lead the Dislocation Response

Partnering with Organized Labor to Support Reemployment

Coordinating Resources to Meet the Reemployment Challenge

Using Data Strategically to Align Job Seekers and Occupational Demand

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PREVIEW 

NEGs respond to large, unexpected layoffs resulting in substantial numbers of workers in

need of retraining and reemployment assistance.  Some of these workers will embark on

new career paths if they strengthen basic skills, upgrade existing skills, or gain credentials

for new demand occupations.  Community colleges, which offer a wide variety of education

and training options, are often a natural partner for NEG grantees in responding to this

need.

Purposeful partnerships between NEG grantees and community colleges can contribute

significantly in preparing dislocated workers for relevant long‐term reemployment and

enhance a NEG project in all stages of its lifespan:

Infrastructure and Readiness.  An established relationship between local

community colleges and the workforce system ensures that unexpected layoff

events will be met with a coordinated response.  Creating lasting infrastructure

or processes in support of this partnership will ensure efficient start‐up when

large dislocation events occur.   

Planning and Start‐up.  The involvement of the educational institutions during

grant planning and start‐up enables NEG project operators to assess the training

needs of the dislocated worker population in the context of available capacity

and resources at the community college.  Their involvement further allows the

stakeholders to work collaboratively to address gaps in capacity as well as

unique educational and training needs of the dislocated worker population.  

Program Design and Implementation.  The community college/NEG grantee

partnership aids in the design of educational programs that are relevant for the

impacted population and are available on a schedule when workers can access

the training.

A sudden influx of dislocated workers can pose challenges to community colleges and NEG

grantees working together to provide training and educational services.  Some of these

challenges include:  

Strains on existing capacity.  Large layoffs that suddenly and significantly increase

demand for training and educational opportunities can leave community

colleges scrambling to find classroom space, teachers, and equipment.

Mismatches between timing of layoffs and timing of course offerings.  Layoffs generally

do not conform to community college schedules, and recently laid off workers

are anxious to return to work as quickly as possible.  In some cases workers need

to enroll in training to maintain or avoid exhausting unemployment benefits.   

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Need to match training/course offerings to current employer demand. Major

dislocations can be part of a larger regional economic restructuring that

significantly alters the type of skills and jobs that are in demand.  This creates a

need for colleges to quickly assess skill requirements for jobs that will be

available and to design responsive education and training options.

Need for new curricula so as to meet profile of dislocated workers.  Dislocated workers

may have a variety of training and education needs even though they are

experienced workers.  As a result, the training plan developed by NEG grantees

needs to account for existing competencies, adapt for basic skill deficiencies,

and/or recognize the need for short‐term training options as well as to

communicate these needs to community colleges.  

Need for new methods to attract, support, and retain dislocated workers. Laid off

workers who need retraining to find new jobs may face challenges that are quite

different from those of traditional college students.  Many have never attended

college and are years removed from a formal educational setting.  Additionally,

while acknowledging the need for new skills, dislocated workers may need to

return to employment as quickly as possible to support themselves and their

families.  NEG grantees and education providers must recognize these unique

considerations when attempting to attract and retain dislocated workers into

their programs by customizing outreach and enrollment strategies, creating a

sense of community, and integrating feedback mechanisms to ensure they are

meeting the needs of these returning students.

Learning from NEG Grantees:  The following NEG grantees and community colleges were

able to develop successful partnerships to address these various challenges.  These

partnerships facilitated rapid expansion of training and education capacity, developed

offerings that met employer and worker needs, and created conditions that supported

workers to remain and succeed in education.

North Carolina.  The 2003 Pillowtex Inc. closing in Kannapolis caused the loss of

4,800 jobs in a “company town.”  Rowan‐Cabarrus Community College (RCCC)

faced the challenge of expanding its capacity to immediately serve 3,900 new

students, almost doubling the student body.  A portion of this NEG funding

supported the influx of dislocated workers attending the North Carolina Community

College System.  NEG Award Amount:  $20,655,048 million.

Maine.  The shutdown in 2003 of Great Northern Paper’s two mills in the rural

communities of Millinocket and East Millinocket affected approximately 1,100

workers.  The NEG grantee worked with the Katahdin Regional Higher Education

Center (KRHEC), an off‐campus site for Eastern Maine Community College located

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in East Millinocket that had historically provided training to laid off and incumbent

Great Northern Paper workers.1  Based on availability of its newly‐expanded space

in East Millinocket, the center was co‐located with Training and Development

Corporation (TDC), the operator of the One‐Stop Career Centers in the region, to

serve dislocated workers from the mills.  This partnership reached out to the

community to expand resources to these workers and their families.  NEG Award

Amount:  $9,298,121.

Mississippi.  Hurricane Katrina wrought devastation throughout the Gulf Coast in

2005.  The Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC) serves

approximately 9,000 students in a four‐county district on the Gulf Coast.  Despite

severe damages to the campus, MGCCC was up and running within seventeen days

of the hurricane to serve students and support recovery efforts through the  

Mississippi Hurricane Katrina NEG.  NEG Award Amount:  $95,000,000.

Outlined below are examples of the ways in which the community colleges worked with

NEG grantees to expand education and training capacity, flexibly design and schedule

instruction, and support dislocated workers in the community college setting.

EXPANDING EDUCATION AND TRAINING CAPACITY 

The NEG grantees and their community college partners described above had three basic

methods of planning for and expanding training and education capacity:

Assessing the training needs of dislocated workers and the training requirements

of in‐demand occupations to determine what additional capacity was needed;

Forming strategic alliances to maximize training and education resources; and

Leveraging available community resources to increase capacity and meet the

needs of workers while in training.

Assessing Demand and Capacity:  As the critical first steps in planning training and

education services, these exemplary NEG grantees began by identifying the skill needs of

workers and potential employers and then identified the education and training system’s

capacity to meet those needs.

 

1   The main campus of Eastern Maine Community College is located in Bangor.  The college also maintains three

off‐campus sites in Dover/Foxcroft, Ellsworth, and East Millinocket.  Through enrollment in these centers,

individuals can enroll in credit courses and, in some cases, complete most coursework toward an Associate’s

Degree program.  Off‐campus professional staff assist students with academic advising, financial aid, career

counseling, placement testing, and course registration.

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In North Carolina, the State Workforce Board

staff worked closely with the Employment

Security Commission and RCCC in

developing the NEG proposal and

implementation response for Pillowtex

workers.  These partners collected and

analyzed demographic information on

workers being laid off, identified potential

demand for services, and compared that

demand to existing training capacity.  It was

apparent that with approximately 3,900

dislocated workers in Rowan and Cabarrus

Counties, the sheer volume of people seeking

education and training was going to pose a

major capacity challenge.  The analysis

further revealed that the average dislocated

worker was forty‐seven years old and that half did not have a high school diploma.  

Successful enrollment of these individuals in a community college setting would likely

require basic education and computer literacy training.  The identification of this gap

between the needs of the dislocated worker population and the existing capabilities of the

college resulted in the use of a portion of the NEG funds to support the temporary

expansion of RCCC’s capacity to serve Pillowtex workers.  Early and intensive involvement

of the college with the workforce development system underscored the importance of this

partnership in serving dislocated workers effectively and efficiently.

Key Issues in Determining 

Community College Capacity 

 Size of layoff: 

Potential/anticipated volume 

of displaced workers 

 Demographic/educational 

profile: Need for basic skills 

and computer training 

 Educational support: Need for 

tutoring and/or educational 

counseling 

 Employer demand: Unique or 

emerging training 

requirements

In Mississippi, MGCCC also worked

with the Mississippi Department of

Employment Security to identify

employer demand for skilled workers as

well as the college’s capacity to respond

to this demand.  They held town hall

meetings, engaged in continuous

dialogue with local chambers of

commerce and other business

organizations, and conducted workforce

development surveys in several target

sectors where demand and growth had

been identified.  Healthcare and

construction, in particular, emerged as important training areas with immediate demand for

skilled workers.  MGCCC responded by expanding its capacity to provide short‐term,

customized training programs focused on developing the skills identified by employers in

these growth industries.

“The first piece in this work was that 

we [State workforce development 

and the college] already had well 

established partnerships... Pillowtex 

gave the State a model to follow for 

dislocations. The State workforce 

development team goes out and 

invites the community college 

representative to come to the 

employee orientations now.” 

– Stephanie Deese, Director Workforce 

Initiatives, NC Community College 

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In Maine KRHEC was established by Eastern Maine Community College to provide

educational opportunities to adults and non‐traditional students, which included many

Great Northern Paper workers.  Following earlier layoffs at the company in 1986, KRHEC

retrained these workers for new jobs.  KRHEC also worked closely with the company over

the years to develop many in‐house training programs for incumbent workers.  As a result,

when the Great Northern Paper mills were shuttered in 2002, KRHEC had a long‐standing

relationship with the company and its workforce.  The center was therefore a natural

planning and implementation partner for the NEG.

KRHEC staff worked alongside NEG staff to assess the training needs of Great Northern

Paper workers.  This process revealed that many of the workers were older and had long

work histories at the plant; they generally needed basic skill instruction and computer

literacy training as an initial step in the retraining process.  The assessment team also

identified common employment goals among Great Northern Paper workers that guided

training program development.  For example, many dislocated Great Northern Paper

workers were interested in nursing as a high demand, high‐paying occupation.  KRHEC

staff recognized that an allied health curriculum offering short‐term certification programs

could serve as a pathway to an eventual Associate’s Degree in nursing or other demand

occupations in the sector.  KRHEC and Eastern Maine Community College therefore

provided Great Northern Paper workers with the opportunity for immediate access to allied

healthcare occupations by developing a surgical technician and medical lab technician

certification programs.

Forming Strategic Alliances to Maximize Resources:  A successful response to major layoff

events requires that NEG grantees quickly ramp up training and educational capacity to

meet the demand for these services.  Often this means forging strategic alliances between

community colleges and training or business organizations to maximize the resources and

core capabilities that each provides.  These partnerships can yield additional space and

equipment for training as well as curricula and strategies to develop needed competencies

for individuals in training.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Twin

Districts Workforce Area and MGCCC partnered

with the Mississippi Construction Education

Foundation (MCEF) to quickly develop training

programs that would build the necessary skills

for expanding job opportunities supporting the

extensive rebuilding efforts being undertaken in the Gulf Coast.  Within two months of the

hurricane, the community college launched its first construction training program for

workers displaced from their jobs as a result of this natural disaster.  Several factors allowed

for the rapid start‐up and efficient deployment of resources needed to design these

programs:

“Partnerships are integral and 

have to be maintained, 

strengthened, enhanced.” 

– Anna Faye Kelley-Winders, MGCCC

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Eagerness to collaborate. The parties saw clear alignment of purpose as well as

shared benefits that would result from combining resources to mobilize the

program.

Leveraging of shared resources. The community college used an existing lab

environment for construction education while MCEF contributed materials and

funding for an instructor.  Additionally, while the college was planning the

larger construction program, MCEF offered workers an initial two‐week

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety training

certification, a valuable companion credential in the construction field.

Adaptation of instructional materials.  MGCCC, with the help of the National

Center for Construction Education, was able to adapt the Contren Learning

Series based on the MCEF credential requirements to create training manuals for

use in this training program.2   

Leveraging Community Resources:  Partnerships with the community can support

capacity‐building through provision of classroom space, community volunteers, support

services (via referral networks), and community activities that mitigate the impacts of

dislocation.   

In Maine, KRHEC partnered with the Maine Department of Labor, the Training

Development Corporation (the One‐Stop Career Center operator) and numerous

community‐based organizations to form a community transition team.  The community

cooperation built by this transition team helped to enhance the needed training capacity for

Great Northern Paper workers.  Local high schools donated space and community

volunteers provided tutoring services to augment the existing capacity of KRHEC.   

Similarly, at RCCC in North Carolina, community partnerships boosted the capacity of the

college’s facilities and provided wrap‐around support.  Local public schools and churches

provided space for classes, and the chamber of commerce afforded a location for the college

to set up small business counseling.  The college had a referral relationship with the United

Way and other social service agencies for supportive services.  Community members also

donated professional clothing to the college to provide Pillowtex workers with business

attire for interviews with potential employers.

DESIGNING AND SCHEDULING INSTRUCTION 

The partnerships between NEG grantees and the community colleges that are featured

below illustrate how course offerings were adapted to meet dislocated workers’

 

2   To meet the needs of the construction and maintenance industry in safety, training, and education, the

National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) developed a competency‐based craft

modular known as CONTREN Learning Series.  

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reemployment needs through flexible class schedules to promote rapid engagement,

including condensed and intensive “semester‐within‐a‐semester classes” as well as training

on nights and weekends.  In addition, short‐term trainings and a variety of teaching

modalities increased the accessibility of programming for dislocated workers.

Flexible Scheduling for Rapid Engagement:  Two initial challenges for community colleges

serving dislocated workers are:

Incorporating the new students into the semester schedule; and

Ensuring classes are held at convenient times for workers to attend.

In Maine, NEG resources allowed KRHEC to quickly assemble new classes needed to serve

the influx of 1,100 students laid off from Great Northern Paper.  For the first time in its

history, KRHEC created a semester‐within‐a‐semester format and also increased classes

offered at nights and on weekends.  One of the semester‐within‐a semester courses was a

full‐time Associate’s Degree in nursing with

classes starting in March and ending in May to

allow students to move seamlessly into the

summer session.  Staff provided students with

one‐on‐one support to help them cope with the

intensity of the condensed schedule.  

Short‐Term Training:  Short‐term trainings and

packaged curricula are a practical, time‐sensitive

solution to rapidly engage workers and maximize

training dollars.  Based on their assessment of

labor market demand, occupational growth potential, and workers’ educational levels,

KRHEC staff in Maine received strong support from Eastern Maine Community College to

create specialized short‐term certificate training, including programs in allied health,

welding, and construction.  These programs were integral to removing barriers that

prevented workers from entering each of these fields.  For example, KRHEC’s allied health

curriculum that included surgical technician and medical lab technician certificate programs

provided a pathway for those dislocated workers with a more limited educational

background to their longer‐term goal of earning a nursing credential.  A short‐term

certificate welding program offered on nights and weekends provided an opportunity for

dislocated workers to obtain in‐demand skills without having to wait for openings in the

traditional welding program at the college.  Finally, many dislocated workers were also

interested in construction as a career path.  KRHEC developed a short‐term construction/

heavy equipment certification program in partnership with Associated Contractors of

Maine.  Local businesses donated equipment to use in the program, and as part of the

training, Great Northern Paper trainees participated in the construction of new dormitories

for the college.

Reemployment Connection 

 Rapid start-up and 

engagement through 

flexible scheduling 

 Retention and 

completion through 

short-term trainings 

and a variety of 

teaching modalities 

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In North Carolina, RCCC staff responded to the increased training demand from laid off

Pillowtex workers by offering short‐term training courses for the first time.  Prior to the

Pillowtex closing, RCCC focused on serving young adults looking for a two‐year degree or

for advancement to a four‐year college.  Under this general model, RCCC did not provide

traditional workforce development services and did not serve many working‐age adults

since so many went to work at Pillowtex straight from high school and remained employed

for their whole career.  The Pillowtex closing, however, necessitated that RCCC develop a

more robust workforce development mission

to facilitate access to new employment, and

the NEG funds helped it develop and

institutionalize this capacity.  The college

developed six‐ to nine‐month short‐term

training programs to teach marketable skills in

areas such as health‐related occupations and

light construction.  In addition, the college

offered an expanded set of course options

such as customer service and computer usage that provided students with transferable skills

that could be applied in multiple sectors.   

“Don’t reinvent the wheel 

during a crisis. Use creativity 

in leveraging your resources, 

and take a standardized 

model and run with it.” 

– Anna Faye Kelley-Winders, 

MGCCC

Varied Teaching Modalities:  In order to maximize access to educational services,

community colleges can increasingly rely on distance learning strategies that use computer

and Web‐based instructional technology.  This teaching modality allows institutions to

expand their reach to accommodate students who are spread across the region as well as to

make use of instructors who may not be local.  Thus KRHEC and the University of Maine

college system, located in a very rural part of the State, offer four teaching methods for NEG

participants to support remote access to training:  

Classroom instruction;

Interactive television classes (ITV)3;

Online courses; and

Videoconferencing.

All dislocated Great Northern Paper workers began their training in a classroom with an

instructor so as to ensure students became comfortable with the return to school and felt

supported.  Instructors, however, were not always locally available to teach advanced

courses and thus alternative teaching modalities were important for students’ progression.  

Great Northern Paper workers were able to access interactive television at over 100 locations

within the University of Maine system, including universities and local high schools around

the State.  Videoconferencing was another option that allowed students to remotely access

instructors from KRHEC or other University of Maine locations.  Finally, online learning

 3   ITV provides viewers with an opportunity to interact or affect content on the television (e.g., real‐time voting

by class members that is reflected on the screen).

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options, which are especially critical in rural Maine, provided additional access to classes for

dislocated workers using home or library computers.  Distance learning options were

particularly important for the Great Northern Paper workers who completed the Allied

Health certificate programs and wanted to complete coursework toward a nursing degree

since these courses were not available on‐site at KRHEC.  Online learning facilities were also

heavily utilized by individuals enrolled in the NEG who needed computer literacy training

and used the computer lab to complete self‐paced instruction and practice software

applications.   

SUPPORTING DISLOCATED WORKERS IN A COMMUNITY COLLEGE SETTING 

Once dislocated workers are enrolled in a community college program, making sure they

are retained in the program can be a challenge.  Many of the workers dislocated by

Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and the mill closings in both Maine and North Carolina

had never been to college.  Attending community college represented a significant transition

for people moving from jobs emphasizing physical skills to an environment focused on

academic skills.  In many cases, workers also suddenly faced instability in their lives as they

tried to replace prior incomes and determine new directions.  At the extreme end, such as

the workers displaced by Hurricane Katrina, people were also coping with replacing homes

and basic necessities.   

NEG grantees and their community college partners supported dislocated workers in five

critical ways that are discussed in the text that follows:

Customizing outreach;

Minimizing paperwork;

Adapting enrollment deadlines;

Emphasizing community; and

Seeking and heeding feedback.

Customizing Outreach:  Customized marketing and outreach efforts can effectively inform

dislocated workers of existing educational providers that are striving to meet their unique

needs.  For instance, the recruitment strategy of the Rowan‐Cabarrus Community College in

North Carolina was based on previous meetings with dislocated workers.  Because

community college staff had been a part of the NEG planning process, they knew that their

orientations for prospective students needed to accommodate non‐English speakers, those

who spoke English as a second language, and those with visual and/or hearing

impairments.  To meet these needs, RCCC:

Used a bilingual staff member to translate for Spanish speakers;

Hired a former Pillowtex employee of Thai descent to provide communication

assistance for Southeast Asian workers; and

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Developed training brochures in multiple languages.

Additionally, as a follow‐up to the initial Rapid Response meetings, college staff sent letters

and made calls to dislocated workers informing them about available courses and their

training benefits.  As part of the outreach effort, RCCC’s President also wrote a letter to all

dislocated Pillowtex workers inviting them to attend the institution.  This personal approach

from a respected local figure proved highly effective with mill workers whose families had

lived in the community for generations.  This aggressive and diverse outreach process was

essential since, as NEG staff described, some workers had lost phone service, others feared

bill collectors and were reluctant to answer the phone, and some had moved because they

were no longer able to afford rent.  

“One lesson the college 

learned was in marketing. 

Our materials had been 

designed to attract students 

just graduating from high 

school. Pillowtex workers 

didn’t look like those pictures. 

We created new brochures 

with pictures of Pillowtex 

workers and had them 

printed in Spanish and 

Laotian as well as English” 

– Jeanie Moore, RCCC

Shared intake:  For the Pillowtex dislocation,

RCCC staff collaborated with the Employment

Security Commission to create a streamlined

operation with common documents that

facilitated information sharing between the two

organizations.  By streamlining the intake and

assessment process, the workforce and

community college partners sought to reduce

potential frustration and improve the likelihood

that workers would take advantage of training

services available to them.   

Similarly, KRHEC in Maine collaborated with Training and Development Corporation

(TDC), the WIA provider, to share information.  KRHEC and TDC co‐designed a consent

form for the client to indicate permission for the two agencies to share information.  This

alleviated duplication during the intake and testing processes.

Adapting Enrollment Deadlines:  Institutional flexibility can remove barriers and provide

dislocated workers with an opportunity for enrolling in and completing training as quickly

as possible.  The Pillowtex plant closing in North Carolina occurred just as RCCC’s

enrollment deadline arrived.  While NEG and Trade Adjustment Assistance training funds

were not yet in place, RCCC encouraged workers to enroll in training and then arranged for

reimbursement from the State.  Another community college within the region also extended

its enrollment deadline date.  These actions demonstrated not only the willingness of the

colleges to respond to a community crisis but also their commitment to forging a trusting

partnership with the workforce development

system.  These partners collectively assumed the

financial risk that allowed workers to quickly

enroll in classes and pursue their path to new

employment.  

“Support retention and completion 

by demonstrating flexibility and 

responsiveness as a way of doing 

business.” 

- George Pollitz, Twin Districts WIB

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Emphasizing Community:  Community colleges also play an important role in creating

space for dislocated workers to reunite and preserve the sense of community that existed in

their workplace.  RCCC in North Carolina has historically been a commuter school with

interactions among students and teachers generally limited to the classroom.  College staff,

however, emphasized to their Pillowtex students that they had a community at the campus

and made an effort to develop supportive relationships with them.  Many students did

homework together on campus and looked at being at the college as their work “shift.”   

KRHEC in Maine emphasized community building through both personal support and

regular social activities.  KRHEC staff worked to helped organize a group book buying and

distribution time to ease workers’ return to school.  

In addition, staff scheduled special social events

once a month.  KRHEC ultimately became a

community space where workers felt at ease.  

Continuous engagement with the college also

helped workers reestablish a sense of purpose with

structure and routine.   

Supporting Dislocated Workers 

 Customized outreach: Utilize 

marketing and outreach 

strategies to show knowledge of 

and consideration for the 

particular needs of disclosed 

workers. 

 Minimizing paperwork: WIA and 

the community college 

streamline intake/assessment 

processes with a common client 

form to ensure clients do not 

duplicate intakes or assessments. 

 Flexibility and adaptability in 

serving clients: Remove barriers 

for clients to participate in 

training and education by 

having flexible enrollment 

procedures and classroom 

locations. 

 Emphasis on creating 

community: Encourage 

dislocated worker leaders to take 

charge in creating cohesion 

among affected workers at the 

college. 

 Seeking and heeding feedback:

Support continuous quality 

improvement by establishing 

needs assessment and quality 

assurance processes to retain 

students and show you care how 

they’re being served. 

Seeking and Heeding Feedback:  Quality

assurance processes ensure that colleges are

responding to dislocations as effectively as

possible.  RCCC in North Carolina created an

accountability program to support continuous

quality improvement by gathering ongoing

feedback from students, faculty, and employers.  

The college engaged the Center for Applied

Research from Central Piedmont Community

College to do focus groups and satisfaction

surveys.  Halfway through the NEG, focus groups

were conducted with faculty and staff in order to

determine what was working (or not) and what

lessons could be learned moving forward.  

Satisfaction surveys were also conducted with

The fact is that the workers at 

the plant not only lost their 

jobs, they also lost their 

community. We tried to convey 

that... folks were getting 

something no one could take 

away from them” 

– Jeanie Moore, RCCC

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Pillowtex students to determine whether their needs were being met and whether they were

satisfied with the services they were receiving from the college.  RCCC staff also conducted

their own follow‐up survey with employers of former Pillowtex workers to determine if

employers were pleased with their level of preparation.  Results showed that employers

were satisfied, though lower satisfaction was evident in sectors such as advanced

manufacturing that required continuing technical education on the job.  Working with the

JobLink career center, RCCC now provides occupational information that is more targeted

to prospective enrollees.  This effort has increased employer satisfaction and students’

ability to make informed decisions about their career interests and job placements.   

REEMPLOYMENT THROUGH NEG PROMISING PRACTICES 

Effective partnerships with community colleges can help to maximize the reemployment of

dislocated workers.  The role of the community college is crucial in the planning and start‐

up as well as the program design and implementation phases of a project.  During the

planning and grant preparation phases, active collaboration with community colleges

broadens the overall stakeholder base and increases the likelihood of an integrated NEG

response.  This creates a level of investment that ideally leads the community colleges to

expand or customize their capacity to serve the non‐traditional population of dislocated

workers.  The net result is a set of training and support services that are customized to meet

students’ and employer’s needs.  This more customized support ultimately leads to stronger

completion, graduation, and placement success.  
1

PEER CONTACTS 

Maine 

Stephen Duval, Director 

Policy and Evaluation Division 

Maine Department of Labor 

(207) 623-7988 

stephen.r.duval@maine.gov

Christine Greenleaf, Peer Support Coordinator 

Maine AFL-CIO Dislocated Worker Program 

(207) 622-9675 

christine.l.greenleaf@maine.gov 

Judy Holt, Principal Practitioner 

Training Development Corporation 

(207) 564-8196 

jholt@tdc-usa.org

Mississippi 

Jeanine Lilly, Director 

Office of Grants Management 

Mississippi Department of Employment Security 

(601) 321-6050 

jlilly@mdes.ms.gov 

Yolanda Boone, NEG Grant Administrator 

Mississippi Department of Employment Security 

(601) 321-6000 

yboone@mdes.ms.gov 

 

Gary Lukens, Deputy Director 

Twin Districts Workforce Investment Board, Hattiesburg 

(601) 545-2137 

glukens@smpdd.com 

North Carolina 

Myra Allen Beatty, Workforce Policy Associate 

Special Projects and Community Service 

North Carolina Department of Commerce 

Division of Workforce Development 

(919) 329-5234 

mbeatty@nccommerce.com

Manfred Emmrich, Director, Employment Service 

Employment Security Commission 

(919) 733-7522 x253 

manfred.emmrich@ncmail.net