FOSTORIA, Ohio — A federal grant is expected to help folks from northwest Ohio get the training they need to get hired in-high-demand jobs in our area.
Terra State Community College was one of only 20 institutions in the country, and one of two in Ohio, to receive funding from the U.S. Department of Labor's Job Corps Scholars Grant.
Terra's portion will amount to $1,186,700.
The funding will allow Terra to launch a new, tuition-free career technical training program, aimed at "at-risk" individuals in the Fostoria area between the ages of 16 and 24.
The money will allow Terra to offer scholarships to participants and hire career readiness coaches.
"These are folks that will assist the students in making sure that they are continuing along the process of achieving that certificate," said Ron Schumacher, president of Terra State Community College
This program will be in collaboration with Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, who will help facilitate enrollment and job placement and career soft skills training.
The 30-credit hour program should take participants two semesters to complete and will then have their skills certificate in 15 potential career paths, and be ready to work full time right away in locally high-demand jobs.
GLCAP will also be able to help in travel to and from classes at either Terra State's campus and the Fostoria Learning Center, and continuously check in with participants.
"To be able to not only map out their career path, but then also to identify any barriers that pop up along the way, and then ways they can solve and resolve those issues," said Ragan Claypool, Adult & Youth Development Director at GLCAP.
The window to register for this career technical training will open up later this summer, and the fall semester at Terra starts up on August 17.