A $15 million federal grant will pay for a workforce program that includes job training to help Georgia workers recover from COVID-19 setbacks.
The Technical College System of Georgia announced this week it received the funding from the U.S. Department of Labor. The state’s 19 Local Workforce Development Areas can apply for a portion of the grant to help workers in their counties or regions pay for training courses or programs through a technical college or other approved provider.
The initiative will focus on teaching the skills needed for good-paying jobs in high-demand industries such as healthcare, logistics, information technology, transportation, distribution and advanced manufacturing.
“Every one of the local areas has needs in one or more of these industries,” said Karen Kirchler, the system’s deputy commissioner of workforce development. “And these industries do offer great opportunities.”
Kirchler said the effort is aimed particularly at assisting those impacted by the pandemic. She said that includes people who left jobs during the pandemic because of layoffs or a lack of childcare, people with disabilities, low-income workers and people of color.
A minimum of 1,200 participants are projected to receive services through the initiative, she said. Kirchler hopes to award grants to the local workforce agencies in the coming months and said individuals could get enrolled in training programs by January.
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