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New Opportunities for Workers (NOW) ProgramBackgroundWhether driven by necessity, opportunity or the desire to fulfill a dream, self-employment has been on a steady increase in recent years. Today, more than 225,000 rural North Carolinians work for themselves. By contrast, agriculture and traditional manufacturing are employing fewer rural residents. Many people have lost their jobs because of plant closings and layoffs, and this downward trend is expected to continue. For many, replacing lost jobs and wages has proved to be a challenge. The Rural Center believes that some of these dislocated workers may be suited to join the growing ranks of the self-employed. Some ran side-businesses even while employed full time. Others learned the fundamentals of commerce while growing up in a family business. Still others have hobbies with earnings potential. The New Opportunities for Workers Program is designed to help these individuals assess and strengthen their potential as entrepreneurs. The NOW programThe NOW Program began as a joint effort of the Rural Dislocated Worker Initiative and the Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship. It also involves collaboration with the N.C. Commission on Workforce Development, the N.C. Department of Commerce's Division of Employment and Training, the community college system's N.C. Small Business Center Network and N.C. REAL Enterprises. Together they devised a program of training and encouragement for dislocated workers who dream of starting and running a business. The program includes:
The NOW program is open to anyone living in North Carolina who is unemployed or underemployed after being laid off since 2000. To be considered underemployed, a person must be earning less than three-quarters of his or her former wages. NOW was piloted during early 2004 at 13 community colleges serving the counties with the highest rates of unemployment and layoffs, and later was expanded to 22 colleges. Currently it is offered at 15 community colleges. Funding for NOW is provided by the N.C. Department of Commerce through the Workforce Investment Act training program. Progress ReportFrom its launch through June 2006 community colleges participating in NOW reported holding 345 information sessions attended by more than 3,800 dislocated workers around the state. Of those expressing initial interest, more than 880 individuals chose to pursue the program further. Approximately a third of participants received technical assistance on business issues. Roughly two-thirds enrolled in some form of training, primarily through N.C. REAL, which walks participants through the steps of creating a workable business plan. Some were referred to other education or training programs, either in addition to or in advance of enrolling in a business development program. NOW scholarships assisted some participants with the cost of outside training or certification exams. As a result of these measures, program sponsors anticipated that 265 dislocated workers would start new businesses. The businesses range from electrical contracting and HVAC repair to baking, child care, website development, construction, hair braiding, a parcel shipping franchise and auto repair. Another 126 NOW participants already operated businesses, mostly on a part-time basis, and had sought help making those operations more profitable. At least two NOW participants have received loans for start-up operations so far. One loan was issued by the Rural Center's Microenterprise Loan Program, which offers special terms to NOW clients. For other participants, an equally important decision was not to launch a new business. Through NOW, they gained enough insight to avoid the expense of starting a business likely to fail. A few applied newly earned skills and confidence to pursue employment in a new field.
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N.C. Rural Economic Development Center
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