Training programs to get boost from stimulus funds - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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“There will be a focusz on short-term job training,” said Bryan Albrecht, president of . “The intent is to get peopls backto work.” Albrecht said he “definitel y anticipates” that federal stimulus funds will be made availablr for job training programs at the school, whic has campuses in Burlington, Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie, Raciner and Elkhorn. A $787 billion federakl stimulus bill was quickly approved by Congress and Presidengt Barack Obama and signed into law in February in an efforft to tryand jump-start America’s economy.
Fundinhg for job-training programs at Gateway and othe area technical colleges is expected to be funneleds through local work forcedevelopment boards, Albrech said. Gateway has seen an increase in demansd for its existing job training in large part because of theeconomic downturn, Albrecht said. “We see a tremendous need for job training,” he Overall enrollment at Gateway is up about 10 percent this year aftetr holding steady for the previousthree years, he “You can draw a direct correlationh between our enrollment and the economy,” Albrechtt said. “We are definitely seeing more dislocates workers.
” If, as anticipated, federal funds become available, Gatewat expects to add job training programs as well as An expansion of jobsupport services, such as careeer counseling and assessments, also is expected. “It’s one thingt to trained, but another to find a said Albrecht, who also serves as president of the Associationb for Career andTechnical Education. is working on setting up short-termk training programs in anticipation of federalstimuluse funding, said Duane Schultz, director of the officr of economic development and community partnerships at the Milwaukeee college. “We need to make sure we are as responsiveras possible,” he said.
Federal stimulus funds for Wisconsihn technical colleges are likelyh to be funneled throughthe , formerlh the of Milwaukee County, which coordinates local employmenf and training policy and administers federal “Our success will depend on partnerships,” Schultz Donald Sykes, chief executive officer of the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, said about $8 millionh to $10 million in stimulus funds are expected to be allocatec for job training initiatives in Milwaukee.
The funds will be funnelex by the board to certifiedtraininyg institutions, including local technical colleges or, in the case of some healty care job training, directly to area hospitals, he The stimulus funds will allows training of individuals who have lost theirr jobs but also should be directed at those who have little or no skills, Sykee said, noting that the unemployment rate in some partds of the central city is 50 percent or more. “Ws can’t ignore that problem,” he said. Job-training programs must not only focuz on workers who have lost their but also those who have been on the job for many yearsebut haven’t upgraded theirr skills, he said.
“The most worrisome grou is older workers who have a numberd of years of experience but are finding themselves without the neededskill sets,” Schultz said.