SANFORD - Individuals who have received notification of a layoff, currently unemployed, qualify for the Federal Earned Income Tax credit, or underemployed may qualify for free classes (fee waiver) to help with their job search and job-readiness skills.

Many of those individuals are finding employment thanks to Central Carolina Community College's Human Resources Development (HRD) program and its career training lab.

HRD educates and trains adults through the development of the essential skills needed for securing and maintaining employment or furthering education.

The HRD can help a person with six core areas - assessment, self-confidence, employability skills, communication skills, problem-solving skills, and information technology.

Dedrick Petty, who says that students who want to change their overall situation benefit from the program, leads the employability lab. "We try to figure out what it is they are lacking and help them," he says.

Petty prepares the students with various employability skills -- and, he has built relationships with various employers in the community that greatly assists with job opportunities. "We train them before we send them out," says Petty.

"The biggest thing is to encourage the people that the opportunity is here and the ball is in your court," he says. "You just have to take advantage of the opportunity that is presented."

The career training lab is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday in Room 118 of the Lifelong Learning Center at W.B. Wicker in Sanford. Participants, however, do not have to attend for the entire time.

The activities vary from person to person. "Every person is different, so we try to make sure we cater to each individual," says Petty.

Classroom topics can include interviewing skills and how to get a job -- and keep a job.

There is time for work on resumes and applications. At other times, Petty might play the role of hiring manager for class participants to work on interviewing skills. "It's a lot of resources wrapped up into one classroom," says Petty.

For more on Central Carolina Community College's HRD program, contact Dedrick Petty in Lee County at 919-777-7798 or email dpetty@cccc.edu, Theresa Blumatte in Chatham County at 919-545-8047 or email tblumatte@cccc.edu, or Nicole Brown in Harnett County at 910-814-8852 or email nbrown@cccc.edu.