Gov. Beshear awards $840,000 to West Kentucky
Workforce Investment Board
Funds to assist displaced workers
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 10, 2008) – Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Secretary Helen Mountjoy today announced the West Kentucky Workforce Investment Board (WKWIB) will receive $840,000 in Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Rapid Response funds. The money will allow state workforce agencies to provide immediate assistance to dislocated workers in response to the closure of Johnson Controls, Inc., an auto supply company in Cadiz.
“This quick response to layoffs provides access to educational and technical training and puts valuable information in the hands of employees so they can reenter the workforce as soon as possible,” said Governor Steve Beshear.
The WKWIB will provide a temporary dislocated worker transition service center to assist the approximately 600 citizens the plant’s closure affects in addition to helping other job seekers in the community. The career center will offer services and information needed to succeed in a fast-changing labor market including resume writing and interviewing techniques, access to local, state and national job listings, adult education opportunities, job training to upgrade skills, specialized assessments for job placement and assistance with filing unemployment claims.
“The transition service center will not only promote higher skills training and adult education, but it will also coordinate with local workforce partners in planning for the next industry that will come to area,” said Secretary Mountjoy.
Economic development support includes providing data on available worker skills, organizing group skills assessments for future company’s needs, surveying the local population and providing a nucleus for potential industry visits and interviews.
A consortium of local partners will serve as the framework of the center including the Pennyrile Area Development District, the Hopkinsville Community and Technical College and the local Office of Employment and Training.
WIA funding is made available through the U.S. Department of Labor and is administered by the Kentucky Department for Workforce Investment’s Office of Employment and Training in the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.
