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MARIETTA -- A federal program that few people have heard about provides funding for 35 to 40 percent of the adult technical trainees at the Washington County Career Center and offers people in poverty a route to a better job.
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act has been around for years but is not widely known as a source of grants for training. The program holds federal funding of more than $3 billion this year, distributed to states, which then allocate grants to Workforce Development Areas.
Flite Freimann, executive director of Washington County Department of Job and Family Services, said the program is available to youth, adults and dislocated workers who want to develop skills that meet labor force demand.
The youth sector of the program, through partnerships with schools and employers, is intended to get young people acquainted with the workplace through arranging job experiences, summer programs and other workplace-related opportunities, he said. It's directed mainly at youth who face challenges such as poverty, difficulty at school or being from an economically depressed area.
"So often, that first job is crucial," Freimann said. "You get a real workplace reference, develop confidence because you have some experience, know what it's like to go to work every day."
For adults, the program can fund training to develop new skills, as long as those skills pertain to categories of work that are in demand, Freimann said.
The program also assists adults who are living below 200 percent of the federal level, or those who have lost work through no fault of their own, and want to acquire certified skills for occupations that are in demand.
Tony Huffman, director of adult technical training at the Washington County Career Center and a member of the Area 15 workforce development board, said WIOA is ideal for adults whose career plans aren't eligible for Pell grants -- which can be applied only to courses with 600 hours or more of instruction -- such as truck driving, some of the medical certificate courses, welding and other skills.
Students funded through the program account for 35 to 40 percent of the adult technical training enrollment, he said.
"We have, every quarter, multiple students using that grant from Washington, Monroe, Noble, Wood and Pleasants counties," Huffman said. "It seems like every other CDL (commercial drivers license) student is coming in on WIOA funding."
Huffman noted that because the funding is federal, it can be used by West Virginia as well as Ohio students.
The careers sought by students have to be aligned with the demands of the workplace. The Ohio Means Jobs website runs a continually updated list of skills in demand that would qualify.
Freimann said that Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 164 and the Marietta local of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are also partners in the program.
Jesse Roush is the executive director for workforce development and corporate partnerships at Washington State Community College. The college is one of the Workforce Innovation partners.
"It's to assist local job-seekers and workers to find space in the local labor markets for in-demand jobs and get credentials for those jobs," Roush said. "It's more than training, it's moving someone along a pretty well-defined career pathway."
The funding is another way for the college to help serve its constituency, he said.
"What we want to do is make sure for each person, we're vetting their goals and their needs, making sure we don't miss any of the opportunities available," he said. "We frequently refer people to Job and Family Services. They get a person into the right channel of funding."
Freimann said his agency is a good place to start.
"Don't worry about the specific (funding) program, just tell us what you're interested in. We'll sit down and talk to you, review your eligibility and what best suits you," Freimann said. "WIOA is not the only program, there are a variety of different things, and we run everybody through all that's available."
Michelle Brown, deputy director of the Washington County JFS, said the agency as of Thursday had 172 people in the program. This year's budget for the program for Washington County is about $194,315.
"One of the points of the program is that you can get trained without having to take out student loans," she said. "We try to eliminate any barriers to get training, have meaningful employment and get out of poverty."