Delgado Community College, the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board and Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced a new training program to funnel students into jobs at the water board to replenish its aging skilled workforce. The S&WB needs an estimated $3.3 billion to rebuild its crumbling infrastructure, a sum that could be partly paid for by doubling rate hikes for...
Delgado Community College, the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board and Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced a new training program to funnel students into jobs at the water board to replenish its aging skilled workforce. The S&WB needs an estimated $3.3 billion to rebuild its crumbling infrastructure, a sum that could be partly paid for by doubling rate hikes for sewer and water services over the next eight years.
Delgado Community College, the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board and Mayor Mitch Landrieu will be announcing a new training program to funnel students into jobs at the water board to replenish its aging skilled workforce.
"We cannot do this without a rate increase," Landrieu said.
The City Council is contemplating the rate increases, which Landrieu and the board have championed as critical to the infrastructure work, and could vote on them as early as this week. Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson announced last week that the council's Budget Committee will discuss them Wednesday.
The Delgado training program could be used to help fill 186 new permanent jobs at the water board, the mayor's office announced Monday. As it stands now, the board has 239 employees.
Landrieu said Delgado's water and sewer skill training class will include 32 hours of classroom time and could begin as soon as 2013. The offer will also include a prep program for the state civil service test, which any prospective classified S&WB employee will have to pass. Neither Landrieu nor the S&WB had cost estimates for the coursework, but the water board said it will be covered under a tuition reimbursement program.
Delgado has also agreed to provide a certification testing location for applicants wanting to specialize in water and sewage treatment. The closest testing site to New Orleans now is in Baton Rouge.