ACTI employees look for new careers
Arkansas Rehabilitation Services held a job fair Wednesday for 107 employees who will be out of work by the end of next month.
The state agency charged with preparing young adults with disabilities for the workforce announced in May the residential program at Arkansas Career Training Institute will end in September, leaving employees whose jobs are tied to the 24 hour, seven day a week operation without employment when the reduction in force takes effect at the end of next month.
ACTI Director Jonathan Bibb said last month that area employers stand to benefit from ACTI’s loss.
“They have the opportunity to supplement their workforce with some of the greatest people in the state of Arkansas,” Bibb said, noting that 45 of the 157 positions on ACTI’s payroll at the time of the announcement will be retained. “If every state had employees
like these, I think it would totally change perceptions of government in the United States.”
Bibb said he had the unenviable task of telling employees their jobs were being eliminated. The responses he got were unexpected.
“It was a mix of emotions, but the consistency that went across is what’s going to happen to the students we serve here,” he said. “Their hearts were broken because of that. They weren’t broken because of losing their jobs. They were broken because they know the benefit of their hard work, whether it’s somebody cleaning toilets or the highest levels of administration. They’re part of the incredible heart and spirit of ACTI.”
State agencies, including the Arkansas State Police and the departments of human services, correction and community correction, were among the 20 employers at Wednesday’s job fair. Private sector participants included Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, Startek and Timber Automation.
Representatives from the 2020 Census, Goodwill Industries of Arkansas, West Central Planning and Development District, National Park College and Henderson State University were also present. ACTI held an earlier job fair June 13.
Students who arrived on campus Monday will be the last to receive comprehensive residential vocational training at the 105 Reserve St. location. They are scheduled to graduate Sept. 13.
ACTI will continue providing vocational training at the former Armory building at 200 Reserve St. after the federal government closes 105 Reserve St., the former location of the Army and Navy General Hospital. ACTI’s primary function will shift to coordinating and training Arkansas Rehabilitation Services field staff and developing community partnerships.
ARS said in May that the residential program serving more than 200 students accounted for $11 million of its budget. The new model is expected to reduce ACTI’s annual costs to about $3 million.