Employment Security awards $500,000 to local workforce development council - March 24, 2009
09-024
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Jennifer Peppin,
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360-902-0904
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OLYMPIA – The Employment Security Department recently awarded a supplemental grant of $500,000 to the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council to provide training and employment services to dislocated workers in Thurston, Lewis, Mason, Pacific and Grays Harbor counties.
Dislocated workers are individuals who are unlikely to return to their previous industry or occupation because of lack of demand or who have limited opportunities for employment or reemployment in their community.
“This money will help pay for the special training or college courses dislocated workers need to upgrade their skills and get good paying jobs in industries that are hiring,” said Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee.
The grant is in addition to $4.7 million in annual funding that was awarded to the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council last summer for the July 2008 to June 2009 fiscal year.
Each year, Employment Security distributes federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funds to the state’s 12 workforce development councils to provide training and employment services to laid-off workers, including rapid-response services for dislocated workers. The department routinely reserves a small amount of money to issue later as supplemental grants to communities that experience more layoffs than expected.
Other areas that have received supplemental grants for rapid-response services in recent weeks include:
- Olympic (Callam, Jefferson and Kitsap counties), $241, 993
- Northwest (Whatcom, Skagit, Island and San Juan counties), $176,724
- Seattle/King County, $850,000
- Southwest (Clark, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties), $306,500
- North-Central (Adams, Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan), $200,000
- South-Central (Kittitas, Klickitat, Skamania and Yakima), $199,094
- Eastern (Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Walla Walla and Whitman), $150,000
Employment Security Web site: www.esd.wa.gov
WorkSource Web site: www.go2worksource.com
Broadcast version
The Employment Security Department has awarded a supplemental grant worth 500-thousand dollars to the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council.
The grant will be used to help support dislocated workers recently laid-off in Thurston, Lewis, Mason, Pacific and Grays Harbor counties.
The money will be used to train and reemploy workers who are unlikely to return to a job in their previous industry.
Web Links
www.eds.wa.gov
www.go2worksource.com
