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AHOSKIE – Town officials here are working on a plan to hire youth workers on a temporary basis at no cost to the local taxpayers.

At their regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 14, the Ahoskie Town Council approved taking advantage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. That program, offered through the Rivers East Workforce Development Board, provides jobs for adult dislocated workers and for youth (ages 16-24).

By agreeing to take part in the program, the Town of Ahoskie becomes a worksite where youth will be hired to perform various job duties within the different departments. The youth workers will be under the supervision of a paid town employee.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to have these paid positions, not only to put a little money in their pocket, but also for them to gain valuable work experience,” said Ahoskie Mayor Weyling White.

“This will be great for our community and our youth,” said Councilman David Hunt. “Plus it’s not costing the town a dime.”

Program regulations prohibit employees working in excess of 40 hours per week. The program will pay for up to three positions for a total of 400 hours per person.

On a motion from Hunt and a second from Councilman Charles Simmons, the measure was approved without objection.

With that approval, White said he will meet with interim Town Manager Michele Garrett in an effort to see which departments can benefit the most from having these temporary workers and to work out a pay grade.

Rivers East is part of the Region Q Workforce Investment Consortium, a five-county group composed of Beaufort, Bertie, Hertford, Martin and Pitt counties. The county commissioners in these five counties agreed to be legally responsible for certain workforce development programs in the area through a written agreement with the Governor, who is represented by the State of North Carolina Department of Commerce – Division of Workforce Solutions.

The county commissioners in each county appoint two members to the Rivers East Workforce Development Board, for the total of 10 private sector members. The chief elected officials of each county, or their designee, appoint the nine other members from organizations such as Vocational Rehabilitation, Employment Services, Economic Development, Community Colleges, Labor, Apprenticeship and Community Based Organization, for a total of 19 members. They also select the administrative/fiscal agent for the funds; in Rivers East this is the Mid-East Commission.

The Consortium members are local officials selected by each county, or their designee. The Consortium members meet periodically to discuss the direction of the federal and state programs under their guidance.