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Weekly Roundup of the news on women and supportive services in job training programs.

By Gladys McLean

Job training can provide an entry into family-sustaining jobs and careers. Many women in job training programs, however, face obstacles to success. Wraparound services—such as child care assistance, access to public benefits, and transportation or housing assistance—can help adults, particularly those with caregiving responsibilities, to complete programs that will ultimately improve their economic standing.


November 3, 2016

KENS5 San Antonio: New job training program opens on east side

Kendra Franklin and Tamika Young are women on a mission. They say they will finish their training to become Certified Nursing Assistants and then keep right on learning. Franklin said she would like to become a doctor. Young said she wants to inspire her children to pursue higher education and great careers.

They are both involved in a training program sponsored by Alamo Colleges.

[…]It’s called the Eastside Education & Training Center and it has brought new life to an old school building.

The program is located in what used to be Pfeiffer Elementary, an SAISD school.

After a $1.5 million grant-funded upgrade, the new center is expected to welcome its first class of students on November 14.

Students who qualify will receive free tuition, books, supplies, childcare, and transportation assistance

November 2, 2016

Santee Patch: Inmates to Plant Trees in Lakeside Under Job Training Program

A job training program at the East Mesa Detention and Re-Entry Facility is taking root at San Diego County parks. Trees and plants that were cultivated and grown at the jail’s greenhouse will be planted at five parks across the county this month, including the morning of Nov. 3 at El Monte County Park.

The program started in July 2014 to help inmates develop skills and work habits needed to secure honest employment after their release. Gardening can be therapeutic and gives inmates a sense of purpose while serving time behind bars. The work they do for County Parks also helps inmates build healthier connections with the community.

October 31, 2016

The Journal: Learning Center focuses on medical, industrial trades

The Unlimited Learning Center in Cortez has revamped its adult education program to focus on the industrial trades in addition to its career training in the medical fields.

“We offer specific pathways to careers that pay well so people have a better chance of getting a sustainable job in the area,” said director Anne Miller. “We’re open to anyone in the community — people who have been laid off, want to find a new job or go back to school.”

[…] Miller said the Center recognizes there is an education gap for many adults which prevents them from succeeding in the difficult course work and testing required to become certified in medical and industrial trades.

Basic math, English, and science courses for GED and college entrance exams are free. Pell grants are available for college courses. The Learning Center also offers free childcare.

Northern Nevada Business Weekly: Reno retail center gets facelift with the help of Sierra Nevada Job Corps Center students

The retail center just south of the Plumb Lane and South Virginia Street intersection is in the process of getting an upgrade…While the remodeling of retail centers throughout the region has started to become a trend for owners to attract and retain tenants, this particular project has a unique aspect to it.

Coldwell Banker Commercial partnered with Sierra Nevada Job Corps Center to give nearly a dozen students the opportunity to get hands-on construction experience while also paying the students for their work. The students worked under the supervision of Coldwell Banker Commercial’s in-house General Contractor, GPS Property Maintenance & Construction LLC.

The program is for people “who want to get ahead in life,” Mark Huntley, business and community liaison for Sierra Nevada Job Corps Center, said.

They offer 15 trades including culinary arts, electrical, office administration, hotel and lodging, automotive, medical administrative assistant and more. It is a two-year program that also provides students free housing, food and medical care.


To view more of IWPR’s research, visit IWPR.org