“REWARD” Program pays off for Employee, Employer
By Andrew Kindman for Northeastern Technical College

As recently as two months ago, Stacy Evans, of Cheraw, was unemployed. 

Evans, like many citizens of Chesterfield County, was out of a job because economic conditions have made jobs scarce - - not because he was unqualified, unable, or unwilling to work. 

Yet he was unwilling to accept his fate so Evans recently visited the Cheraw One-Stop, a branch of the national employment agency, to find a job. 

There, he met Levi Baxter of Northeastern Technical College’s division of continuing education.  She told him about the Rural Economic Workforce Alliance for Resource Development (REWARD) Program, a free job training course available through the college and its partners.

With nothing to lose, Evans enrolled in REWARD and found himself employed 10 weeks later.

“I enjoyed going through the program and working with the people,” he said, citing the “great instruction” and the job coaching he received during the nine week program.  Evans also said the program helped him to achieve the aptitude he needed to find a good job.  

Shortly after his graduation, Evans was hired by Screwmatics, a Pageland manufacturing company.

“I have probably hired 30 people in the last year,” said Tom Hogge, founder and owner of Screwmatics, “Stacy has been on of the most productive from day one and he has sustained that level of productivity.”

Being a REWARD graduate gave Evans a big advantage in the job market explained Hogge.

“It’s nice to know that when you bring someone in the door, they have been exposed to training that stresses attendance and work ethic, and touches on safety and training.”

From an employer’s point of view, Hogge added a REWARD graduate is a smart move.

“It (REWARD program) is the kind of thing you would like for all employees to do,” explained Mr. Hogge, who is so satisfied with the performance of his REWARD graduates that he plans to look to the program for future hiring opportunities.

The REWARD program is a nine-week training program offered at no cost to participants who are accepted.  It is designed to prepare citizens for employment while at the same time helping to ensure new employees will bring a certain level of skill set to the workplace.

The program includes instruction in basic employability, workplace etiquette, mathematics and critical reading skills.  At the end of the course, the students are given a free WorkKeys assessment, which is used to match their skill set with employer needs. 

The REWARD program is part of a larger economic development effort designed to help bring new industries into the area by ensuring that the population is well educated and highly employable

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