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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
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Workforce Partnership Draws $24M in Federal Stimulus Funds

Thanks to a nearly $24 million infusion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the San Diego Workforce Partnership, the regional job training agency, says it’s poised to make some dent in the area’s unemployment.

Workforce Partnership CEO Mark Cafferty said the sum will increase the agency’s budget to about $50 million for the fiscal year starting July 1, compared to the $31 million in this fiscal year.

“This money will just about double our existing budget, and comes after six or seven years of funding cuts,” Cafferty said.

Part of the funds, about $10 million, targets youth unemployment, including $7.7 million for a summer jobs program that should put 3,000 young people to work.

Another part, some $13.5 million, will go to a variety of programs to help the long-term unemployed.

This includes $5.2 million that will go to eight community colleges and three public universities for direct training programs to help displaced workers find new careers.

Another $2 million to $3 million is budgeted for on-the-job training or customized training aimed at private sector employers.

Finally, some $3 million will go toward a fund letting unemployed workers find training through the agency’s list of approved training programs, and for expanding the agency’s career centers and satellite delivery sites, Cafferty said.

There is no specific goal of how many of the unemployed, most recently reported at about 143,000 in the county, would find jobs because of all the stimulus funding, Cafferty said.

“Our goal with this Recovery Act funding is to get more people into training,” he said.

, Mike Allen

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