A State Senator of New Jersey has just proposed a new bill with the aim of ensuring that all employees who used to work for casino venues that are no longer on the local gambling market, have additional qualifications that would be helpful when it comes to finding a new job.
Yesterday, Diane Allen, who represents the 7th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate, announced that she is about to present a bill, supposed to establish an Education Initiative for Former Casino Workers.
The organization will provide 5% of the collected funds to the Labor Department’s Workforce Development Partnership Fund, in order to cover the expenses for training and educating employees who used to work in the gambling industry but the closure of the casinos left them unemployed.
All workers who have been fired in the last two years will be given a chance to obtain an additional qualification.
Luckily, the bill will be applicable to the employees of Taj Mahal, too. Although they are still employed, they might lose their jobs in less than two weeks.
It is common knowledge that the gambling industry in New Jersey has been severely affected during the year. For the time being, there are four closed casinos and Taj Mahal might be the fifth one. Once it closes doors for visitors, the number of New Jersey residents, left out of job will exceed 11,000.
As soon as the bill passes, the Labor Department members will be enabled to select the most promising participants out of all applicants and provide them with appropriate education and training so they gain the confidence necessary for taking up a new career.
Once the course of training is over, every trainee will get a degree or at least a certificate from a New Jersey-based college. All expenses will be covered, including transportation, education fees and books.
Currently, the unemployment rate in the Garden State is more than 11%. There is no defined time when the program will end but it is intended to continue until the percentage of unemployed Atlantic City residents drastically falls and reach less than 5% in three months in a row.
The bill proposed is the latest attempt of New Jersey’s authorities to remedy the situation and aid casino workers in the search of a new job alternative.
A few months ago, Donald Guardian, the Mayor of Atlantic City, announced that a special program, intended to help former casino workers, is about to be launched. It was supposed to start in October but later, it became clear that it is not likely to start until January.
All employees who used to work for the shuttered casinos were invited to a job fair that took place at the Convention Center of the City. They were also given the opportunity to apply for a job in more than 50 companies.
