(KCPW News) The Utah Department of Workforce Services has received funds from the U.S. Labor Department to help eligible workers afford job training for in-demand occupations in Utah, Summit, Wasatch and Juab Counties. Michelle Viertel, DWS operational program specialist, says it can provide up to $4,000 in supplemental money for up to 24 months of a job-training program or college degree.
“The client comes to us and says I want to be trained in such and such. And then we look and see if it’s something we can support or not,” she explains. “So they might come to us saying they want to be trained so they can get their CDL, or maybe they are close to finishing up an accounting degree and they want their bachelor’s and they only have a year left, then they would tell us what kind of training they want to receive.”
The program is targeted toward workers who are unemployed, underemployed, or have been laid off in the past two years.
Viertel says anyone on food stamps is categorically eligible, but that doesn’t automatically mean DWS will support their program.
“It depends on what the training program is. It’s got to be something that is marketable,” she says. “And something that the client does their research on to find out is going to marketable in the next few years and that there’s going to be jobs available. We do have a lot of training providers in the area who are on our list of approved providers, but not all of them are.”
The department is also offering assistance with on-the-job training and paid internships.
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