Central Minnesota Jobs & Training Services (CMJTS) has been awarded a National Emergency grant to help long-term unemployed people get back to work.

 

The $862,500 grant from the Dept. of Employment  and Economic Development (DEED) will focus on people who have exhausted their unemployment benefits.

 

“That funding will allow us to serve dislocated workers with enhanced services,” says Dina Wuornos, Regional Manager of the Adult and Dislocated Worker Program at the Monticello Workforce Center.

 

The Sector Partnership National Emergency Grant is specifically designed to fund special programs for those who have gone through their 26-weeks of unemployment benefits without successfully finding a job.

 

“In Minnesota, the economy has picked up. Things look good,” says Wuornos. “However, there are individuals for whatever reason have lost the hope, the initiative, the desire to look for work. They’ve tried and tried and weren’t finding success, so they just kind of dropped out of their job search.”

 

The program is a collaboration between businesses, the Minnesota College system (MNSCU) and workforce development facilities working together to place people in work-based training opportunities where they are learning new skills while they’re working.

 

“We can provide the classroom training they need in addition to the job training they need to help them gain skills,” says Wuornos. “We do an on-the-job training contract with employers for up to six months. We can do a wage reimbursement if they agree to take an individual on and train them in some specific work skills.”

 

CMJTS has committed to helping 190 individuals with the grant. There are funds in the grant allocated to also help 47 people who are employed but need more training.

 

Businesses can apply for the “incumbent worker” portion of the grant to train their employees.

 

“Maybe they brought in some new machinery or new software and their employees have no idea how to use it,” says Wuornos. “They can tap into incumbent worker dollars to help up-skill their employees to be more competitive in the market.”

 

Wuornos said the goal now is to let people know the program is available. Many long-term unemployed are no longer in contact with the Workforce Center. But any dislocated workers can apply for the program and attend an orientation session.

 

“It’s about an hour long. They learn all about the program and services available,” says Wuornos. “Sometimes they come in and don’t even know where to begin. That’s where we start.”

 

She says often, people don’t know how to change direction when it comes to finding  a job. Many positions have changed over time, and people need to consider a different option.

 

“We’re trying to build on their  skill set. How can we take these skills and connect them to current opportunities to help them be employable?” she says. “That might be classroom training or work place training. Or it might be just a matter of helping them gain some soft skills, like communication, cooperation, reliability, confidence or self-esteem. We have workshops that can help them develop those skills.”

 

Individuals interested in the program are encouraged to call 1-800-284-7425.