Local group seeks grant for 55-and-older training
Friday, February 20, 2009
DAYTON — A coalition led by Sinclair Community College applied this week for a nearly $1 million federal grant to be used for retraining workers 55 and older for jobs in high-growth, high-demand regional industries.
The U.S. Department of Labor is to announce in June who is chosen to receive the $998,000 in funding, said Deb Norris, Sinclair's vice president for work force development and corporate services. The government announced the grant competition in mid-December.
If the Miami Valley coalition is chosen, the money would be used for retraining workers in key workforce needs including information technology, bioproducts manufacturing, health care, advanced manufacturing (composite materials, for example) and entrepreneurship, Norris said Friday, Feb. 20.
Partners in the application include the Urban League of Dayton, Manpower Inc., Clark State Community College, Edison Community College, Butler Tech, Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and daytaOhio, the state-backed, regional IT center based at Wright State University.
The Labor Department said it has committed a total of $10 million for the nationwide grants to provide training for older Americans who want skills training that will extend their working lives.
The Dayton area has already seen an influx of older workers seeking jobs as General Motors Corp., Delphi Corp. and supplier companies have shut down plants in the Miami Valley. So, workers 55 and older are becoming an increasingly important part of the region's work force, Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services officials have said.
Sinclair, Edison Community College, Wright State and the region's manufacturers have been working together in a separate program funded by the Labor Department to provide training for industrial maintenance jobs, Norris said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
