Residents of Schenectady County, New York, who have been out of work for more than six months could soon benefit from a set of new temporary public works jobs that pay well, Fox23 News reports.
According to the news source, the positions are for "heavy highway projects" that require intense manual labor, but will pay $42.34, with the potential to earn $12,000 in seven weeks.
Eugene White, who works with the Northeast Parent and Child Society in the county, says the high-paying jobs were created with the help of the U.S. Department of Labor. The DOL recently allocated $16 million in funds to disaster relief projects, such as the effort to rebuild damage caused by Hurricane Irene in New York. Schenectady County is set to receive $1.3 million in funds.
Much of the staffing will take place at the Indian Kill Nature Preserve in Glenville, while other projects are slated across the Capital Region.
"The skills that these workers learn during this seven weeks of work will carry them the rest of their careers. These jobs are jobs that will be there today, tomorrow, and forever into the future," White said. "There is always going to be a need for this kind of work, and our workers will have the certification, and the training."
The work, which will be offered only to Schenectady County residents who have been out of work for more than half a year, was developed to help the region's workforce learn the skills and gain the experience that will help them find employment once the temporary gig is over, the media outlet stated.
"These projects are public works projects. It's difficult for disadvantaged or displaced workers to get the training to get these kind of jobs, materials training, OSHA training," he said.
The New York economy added 21,500 private sector jobs, or 0.3 percent, in March, data from the state Department of Labor show. Since November 2009, when the economic recovery was first felt in New York, the state has added 332,900 privates sector jobs and refilled 100 percent of the private sector jobs that were shed during the recession. The state's total private sector job count is currently at an all-time high of 7,217,400.