• Ready-to-Build Assistance
• Tax Deferrals-Exemptions-Credits
• Revolving Loan Fund
• Industrial Revenue Bonds
• Job Skills Program
• Community Based Organizations
• Permitting Process
• Special Conditions
• City Government
• Business Climate
• Reputation
• Tenants
• New Developments

Job Skills Program

Job Skills Program (JSP) was established in 1983 to expand the state’s ability to meet the short-term, job-specific training needs of industry. The program provides grants for customized, fast-track training projects which have 50% matching support from the recipient. The private sector match may include cash, donated or loaned equipment, instructional time contributed by company personnel, use of company facilities and/or training materials. Most business-related operations are eligible for JSP training. JSP grants can be awarded to support:

• Training for prospective employees before a new plant opens or when an existing establishment expands its operations.
• Upgrading for current employees when new vacancies are created for unemployed persons.
• Retraining of existing employees when necessary to preserve their jobs.

While each JSP training project is unique in terms of its instruction content and objectives, a typical sequence followed in implementing the JSP program may be:

• The company identifies its short-term training needs and selects an educational or training institution as a partner.
• The firm and training institution jointly develop a customized training program.
• The training organization prepares and submits a JSP training proposal.
• A JSP grant award is made by the State Commission for Vocational Education, typically within 30-60 days.
• Trainees are recruited with the assistance of the State Employment Security Deparment.

Lower Columbia College has worked with numerous companies including BHP Coated Steel Corp. and others to satisfy employee training needs through on-campus classes and custom-designed, on-site training ranging from basic literacy skills to microcomputer operations to statistical processing controls for the electronics industry.