Resources chased for Navistar employees

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Mayor Tom Henry and Kathleen Randolph, President and CEO of WorkOne Northeast, announced Thursday efforts to marshal resources that would give Navistar employees career options and reasons to stay in the Fort Wayne area.

“While we are still determined to show Navistar that Fort Wayne is a place where the company can build for the future, we are more determined than ever to retain Navistar’s highly skilled employees,” said Mayor Henry. “It is our mission to show them that there are opportunities for them right here should they choose to stay. They are an exceptional community asset. We are united in our fight for good jobs and our talented workforce.”

Both the city of Fort Wayne and WorkOne Northeast want every Navistar employee to know that there is a strong commitment to finding resources to support their efforts to enhance workforce skills and find new employment in northeast Indiana.

“Every Navistar employee is valuable to our region,” stated Randolph. “WorkOne Northeast will make sure that we have the resources to assist every person seeking our assistance.”

In addition to the customized recruitment and placement website and the training scholarship fund announced recently, with the full support of the city, WorkOne Northeast officials are exploring additional strategies to aid Navistar workers. Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) resources, a federal training program that assists employees who are displaced as a result of foreign or import competition, are being actively pursued.

The goal of the TAA program is to help trade-affected individuals access services, most notably training grants, to help them secure new employment as quickly as possible at comparable wages.

If approved for the TAA program, Navistar workers could be eligible for 130 weeks or more of training assistance and income support.