RBC I Northwest Workforce Centers announced last week that plans are in place to ramp up outreach efforts to notify out-of-work job seekers and employers about on-the-job training, including in Rio Blanco County.
Grant dollars have been provided to the Workforce Centers by the U.S. Department of Labor, designed to help workers update their job skills and acquire new skills so they can return to the job market. Those grant dollars also benefit employers in Routt, Moffat, Jackson, Rio Blanco and Grand county who have long complained of a disconnect between the skills they need in workers and the skills they are finding in the workforce.
“As long as those dollars are available to our community, we need to take advantage of them,” says Rosemary Pettus, director of the Workforce Centers in the Northwest Region. “Our goal is to ensure that businesses benefit from these grant dollars while the funding remains available.”
On-the-job training grants are reimbursed directly to employers for up to one-half of a trainee’s gross wages for the duration of the training period. The program can be customized for skilled and semi-skilled jobs and employers can use their own training to teach new employees.
Included in the program for the employer is free screening, assessment and referrals of applicants. The employer makes the final hiring decision, determines job performance standards, and has the right to terminate a trainee if necessary.
“Our staff will assist employers through all phases of the program and we will provide prompt monthly payments with a minimum of paperwork,” Pettus says.
She urges local employers with staffing needs to contact the local Workforce Center for more information about the program and how it can strengthen businesses and the region’s skilled workforce.
For the office nearest you, go to www.colorado.gov/cdle and click on “Find a Workforce Center.”
