Workforce Connections may reduce staff by half

A local public agency that helps Las Vegans find jobs is looking at laying off half of its staff.

Workforce Connections may reduce its employee roster of 72 to 34 - a 54 percent cut - by January, interim Executive Director Ardell Galbreth said Friday.

Workforce Connections is also slashing spending on equipment, supplies and other expenses at its northwest Las Vegas offices. The jobs and equipment cuts will save $1.7 million a year, Galbreth said.

But Galbreth says the job cuts will actually help the agency serve more people because money saved will be used for training and job placement for thousands of unemployed locals, Galbreth said.

Workforce Connections doesn't directly train workers - it pays nonprofits, private businesses and state agencies to do so. The agency does evaluate aid applicants for skills and help them find new careers if necessary.

The U.S. Department of Labor gives the 12-year-old Workforce Connections nearly $24 million a year to help jobless Las Vegans improve their skills and find work. About 70 percent of that money goes to the agency's mission; the rest is overhead. After the staff and equipment cuts, the group will spend at least 80 percent of its funding directly on assistance, Galbreth said.

"The more money we can put into employment and training efforts, the more people will get better opportunities to go back to work," Galbreth said.

Galbreth wouldn't disclose the number of people Workforce Connections helps each year, but he said it's in the thousands.

"It would be nice if we could double the number of people served. I don't know whether we can do that, but I want to make sure the number of people served increases significantly," Galbreth said.

Jobs to be cut range from data entry to executive positions. Galbreth said Workforce Connections will cut in areas in which its efforts duplicate services already offered by partner agencies.

Galbreth said laid-off employees would be able to go through the agency for training and placement help, and if the group adds back any lost jobs, former employees would have hiring priority.

Nearly 100 percent of Workforce Connections' funding comes from the Department of Labor, but the group uses occasional grants for about 1 percent of its budget. It's unlikely to lose much federal funding anytime soon because the government determines aid in relation to a city's jobless and poverty rates, Galbreth said. Unemployment in Las Vegas has stayed above 12 percent in recent months, and Nevada has led the nation in joblessness since May 2010.

Galbreth said he would have "an ongoing review and assessment of what we do" during his tenure as interim executive director, which started earlier this year.

"We want to do everything possible to make sure Southern Nevada gets optimum training and employment services, and to make sure those in need of assistance receive it at the best level," Galbreth said.

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512. Follow @J_Robison1 on Twitter.