WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced $6 million in federal funding for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to help strengthen workforce development and enhance delivery of training and employment strategies.
“When Ohioans lose their job through no fault of their own, they deserve help in training for a new high-tech job,” said Brown. “Investing in retraining programs will help Ohioans get back to work in sectors that are hiring and benefit our economy. This funding will connect our workers with critical services and skills training so they can find a new job and support their families.”
The $6 million award will give the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services the opportunity to help fulfill the skills needs of specific employers and industry sectors by facilitating program and funding cooperation and identifying how to deliver employment and training programs more effectively. The funding comes from the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Workforce Innovation Fund.
Brown is working to help ensure that all Ohioans are prepared to enter the workforce. In July 2014, President Obama signed into law the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), legislation that contains provisions modeled after Brown’s Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success (SECTORS) Act that would help dislocated workers train for high-tech jobs in their region. The SECTORS Act provisions will promote and require sector-based partnerships to ensure that workforce training programs are developed with industry input and tailored to meet companies’ workforce needs.
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