Job Program Will Aid Quake Victims

Ventura County residents who lost their jobs because of the Jan. 17 earthquake will be eligible to work on repairing public facilities in a special federal job program, the Jobs Training Policy Council announced Monday.

The Department of Labor has released an initial $3.1-million grant for Southern California workers who lost their livelihoods because their workplaces were destroyed or businesses harmed, said Aram Saroyan, a jobs council spokesman.

Of that amount, Ventura County will receive slightly less than $200,000.

A subsequent request for $28 million will be submitted by state employment officials within weeks, with $1.3 million targeted for Ventura County, Saroyan said.

The grant, which is independent of other disaster aid being considered at the federal level, will provide employment to as many as 150 people in a variety of fields.

Saroyan said each job created under the program should help more than a single employee, as recovering businesses recall their work force. “Many businesses will be back on their feet, reopen and the people who were forced out of work will return,” he said.

Jobs will range from those in the maintenance and clerical fields to building trades and technical support.

Employment officials say that more than 1,000 of the estimated 10,000 jobs lost directly and indirectly because of the January’s earthquake were in Ventura County. Three times the usual number of claims were filed at the state unemployment office in Simi Valley during the two weeks following the quake, said office manager Larry Kennedy.

Workers seeking jobs under the program can apply at state unemployment offices in Simi Valley, Oxnard or Ventura.