MONTGOMERY— Gov. Robert Bentley has awarded grants totaling $504,337 to provide immediate assistance to workers who lose their jobs due to a business closing or layoff and to continue that assistance through Alabama Career Centers.
“Hard-working Alabamians who have been with the same company for years face many challenges when they find themselves suddenly unemployed through no fault of their own,” Bentley said. “This assistance helps those workers take steps toward finding a new career and obtaining a brighter future.”
A $196,887 grant to the Alabama Department of Labor will fund a mobile career center that travels across the state to provide on-site assistance to workers affected by plant closings, layoffs or natural disasters. Personnel from local career centers staff the vehicle to ensure workers have access to all the assistance available at permanent career center locations. The vehicle houses a computer lab with Internet access that can be used for job-search activities or as a mobile training lab for up to 12 people at a time.
A department representative serves on the state’s Rapid Response Team, which holds group meetings to inform workers of the range of services available including unemployment compensation, job placement and retraining services. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs coordinates the team.
For longer-term assistance, two grants totaling $307,450 awarded to Southern Union State Community College will support Individual Training Accounts, which enable eligible laid-off workers to enroll in training to qualify for jobs in new industries. Career center counselors assess the training needs of eligible participants and use the Individual Training Accounts to purchase training from technical schools, community colleges or other approved providers.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grant from funds made available by the U.S. Department of Labor. ADECA manages a wide array of programs that support law enforcement and traffic safety, workforce development, energy conservation, water resource management, economic development and recreation.
Bentley notified Fitzgerald Washington, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Labor, and Glenda Colagross, interim president of Southern Union, that the grants had been approved.
MEDIA RELEASE/OFFICE OF ALABAMA GOVERNOR ROBERT BENTLEY
