If you live in Tennessee and unemployed, you are probably struggling to find a suitable job. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a program that helped you find a suitable training program, told you which careers were in demand, helped you locate potential employers and to search for job openings? The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Department has this very program. It is called “The Source”. The website address is www.sourcetn.org.

This article will give you a brief but useful guide on how to perform each of the tasks we described in the introduction.

1) How to find a training or education program.

Go to www.SourceTN.org.

Click on the “Education and Training” icon. It is under the Individuals section. Click on Training and Education Programs. Choose your county from the drop down menu. Select the “Search by Program Title or Keyword” box and click on continue.

Tick option two “search for a training or education program by keyword. Now type in the name of the program or the topic you are interested in. For instance, if you are interested in an IT training course, type IT and press enter. If there are any programs in the subject you chose you will see a list of training institutions and courses. Click on each school that offers the program and see if it suits you.

2) Find occupations which are in demand.

It is all very good to study a new career. In fact, it is a great idea if you are unemployed to invest time and resources in retraining and refreshing your marketable skills. On the other hand, investing money in training for a career that is not in demand or poorly paid, doesn’t make any sense. To help you choose a  training program that offers a good return on your investment and which has a high demand in your area, the Tennessee employment program “The Source” offers workers the opportunity of searching for careers by their relative demand in your area. This is how it works:

Visit www.SourceTN.org. Click on analysis, select occupation and scroll down till the labor supply and demand section. Click on graphic search and then Workforce Investment Area. Pick the area where you live on the map and type in the keyboard box a keyword for the work category you are clicking for. The database will give you a list of occupations in that industry which are in high demand in your area.

For more information on how to search for job openings and locate potential employers, click here.

The loss of health insurance is often the biggest blow a family receives when the main breadwinner loses her job. After all, you can always move in with family and friends if worst comes to worst and they can help with housing and food expenses, but if you lose your health insurance, the smallest medical intervention can push you into bankruptcy. In the worst cases, you may not have the resources to receive the treatment or buy the medicines you need.

The State of Tennessee offers assistance to unemployed workers who have lost their jobs due to foreign trade or whose pensions are taken over by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation or PBGC.

This program, funded by the federal government will pay up to 80 percent of your families health insurance premiums if you and your family are eligible for this benefit. Click here for a direct link to the Health Coverage Tax Credit website, or alternatively, call 1-866-628-4282.

Requirements

To qualify for this valuable benefit you must be receiving Trade Adjustment Assistance, or TAA, benefits. If you are receiving reemployment and alternative TAA benefits, you may also be eligible.

If you are 55 years old or older and receive pension payments from the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, you may also qualify

If you are enrolled in a COBRA, a state-sponsored health plan or some other qualified health plan you may also apply for HCTC insurance benefits.

You must not enrolled in conflicting health insurance programs, such as Medicare.

The Program,

The Tennessee Labor and Workforce Development Department will notify you if you are eligible. Nevertheless, if you think you qualify for these benefits and have not received a notification from the state government, contact your local career center or call 1-866-628-4282.

If you are eligible, you will receive a registration form and program kit from the Tennessee Labor and Workforce Development Department. Fill it in and send it back with all the documentation required in the instructions.

Payments

There are two main payment options for beneficiaries of the Health Coverage Tax Credit: you can receive it as a monthly payment every time your health premium is due, or you can request it as a lump sum at the end of the year when your file your tax return.

If you choose to claim the payments at the end of the year, you must make your health insurance payments in full and claim for a refund through the IRS Form 8885 and attach it to your tax return.

If it is hard to find work as an unemployed worker in Tennessee, it is much harder to find work as an unemployed ex-convict worker in Tennessee. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the Department of Correction have joined forces to create an innovative program to provide help and guidance to inmates who are about to be released. Studies show that ex-convicts who find a regular job are much less likely to return to the system and are much more likely to become productive members of society. For example, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 650,000 inmates are released every year, but one third of them return to prison and one of the big factors is lack of employment. This is not good either for inmates or taxpayers at large. Why? Consider this. In Tennessee we have over 20,000 inmates and each one costs us $23,000. If we can get inmates that are released to stay away from prison, this will not only help them but also help reduce the cost on the penal system of returning customers.

However, before that happens they must find an employer willing to overcome the suspicion and bias attached to ex-convicts. Karla Davis, Labor Commissioner for Tennessee, said: “Everyone should have the opportunity to work, and if we can help former inmates land jobs, their chances of reintegrating into society are greatly improved”. So, if you are an inmate about to be released or have recently left the penal system, what can you do?

The Career Coach, a mobile career center launched by the Department of Labor visits correction complexes and offers help to inmates who are about to be released. The mobile station includes 10 computers and high-speed internet and office equipment to help inmates learn the skills they need to find a job and market themselves once they are released. This includes help in writing resumes, interviewing skills and job searching methods. Up-to-date (July 2011) over 5,000 inmates have been helped through this program.

Another way the Department of Labor and Workforce promotes the hiring of ex-convicts is to provide employers with income tax credits, if they hire ex-offenders. These tax-credits are substantial and not something employers should ignore. To illustrate, just last year (2010) employers in Tennessee received over $217 million in tax credits for employing over 46,000 workers. Click here, if you are interested in receiving more information about these and related issues.

Working in a saturated market? Find a new one.

The latest reports from the Tennessee Department of Labor points to a large increase in the number of green jobs in Tennessee. This is not totally a surprise for the Department of Labor. After all, the State of Tennessee invested $5.5 billion in the green economy and continues to provide incentives to companies willing to invest in green jobs.

Green jobs could, according to Dr. Murat Arik, an associate Director of the Business and Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University could have a serious effect on the state economy. Dr. Murat Arik was co-author of a report on the economic impact of six industries in the state which have invested in green energy and generated new job opening in green industries. The six industries included semiconductors, leaf and storage battery manufacturing, solar farms and eTec battery charging stations.

According to this report, these six industries alone created 5,674 direct jobs 1,764 indirect jobs and 1,928 induced jobs. That is a total of over 9,300 new jobs. This does not include the 10,000 construction jobs and 17,000 manufacturing jobs these industries have the potential to generate in the short term.

Access this new industry with its high-demand of new workers by taking on a free training course with the Tennessee Unemployment Agency. Are you interested in applying for a job in one of Tennessee’s many green employment positions? Visit www.sourcetn.org and search for a job in your area.

The industries with the highest proportion of green jobs are construction (around 22 percent) and transportation (about 13 percent). Jobs in this sector include team assemblers, which are used to manufacture and assemble energy efficient appliances and solar energy generators. There is also a need for engineers, project managers, construction labors and intercity bus drivers.

The selection of green employment is so wide because green jobs are found in so many industries. For instance, environmental protection, research and consulting, recycling, waste reduction, administration and sustainable transportation are only a few of the many industries that offer green jobs to workers.

However, what can you do if you do not have the training or background to qualify for a green job? The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development offers workers adult education to provide basic skills and training in high demand positions. Click here for a link to the Tennessee’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development for more information.

Special unemployment problems require special unemployment measures. In the last few years even workers of federal agencies which though their job was recession-proof have suffered the effects of cash-strapped agencies that are left without another choice but to let workers go. The situation is even worse for workers who suffer the devastating effects of natural disasters and see storms, floods and tornadoes destroy not only their homes and communities but also their jobs, their livelihood. This article will look into two federal programs that can help you with unemployment compensation while you search for work, which you may not have heard of before: the UCX and the DUA.

UCX, Unemployment for Ex-Service Members

If you have been discharged from the U.S. Army, Air Force, Coast Guard or some other military agency, you can apply for UCX unemployment compensation. Notice this program is only for ex-servicemembers.

How To Apply?

Unlike regular state UI benefits, you cannot apply online or over the phone for UCX compensation. You must visit your local office where they can provide you with the forms you need to file your application. You will also receive specialized assistance and instructions to ensure you receive the benefits you are entitled to as an ex-serviceperson.

What You Will Need?

For your UCX benefits to be approved you need to provide proof of your employment with the U.S. Military. This includes your DD form 214, your Member 4, or a certified copy of your 2,3,4,6,7 or 8 forms and two identification items, such as your SS card and your driving license.

DUA, Disaster Unemployment Assistance

When a county is hit by a natural disaster, the Governor can request assistance from the federal government. If the President declares a country the site of a major disaster, such as has been the case in numerous counties this Spring, special unemployment assistance may be available to you.

This unemployment assistance provides compensation not only to employed workers but also to self-employed workers who are generally not covered by unemployment insurance programs. To qualify for these benefits, visit your local unemployment office. Notice that in some cases emergency offices will be placed close to the site of the natural disaster to provide assistance to victims and register them for assistance programs. However, this registration will not necessarily qualify your for DUA benefits. Make sure you visit your local unemployment office and apply specifically for this program.