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Are you unemployed or low-income? Have you been laid off or been notified there will be a lay-off? If so, you might qualify for a grant that can really help you get trained, certified and placed in your new job. There is no out-of-pocket for you. Let’s see if you qualify!
With the amount of computer networks doubling every five years, the job demand for IT workers continues to heat up for this high paid career. If you qualify you can use the grant to get the certifications the employers we work with are looking for|: CompTIA, Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, VMware and more
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of Security Analysts is projected to grow by 37 percent between 2012 and 2022, which is much better than average. Cyberseek.org’s supply and demand heat map shows over 700,000 job openings across the United States. Some markets are even better than others. The Tampa/Clearwater/St. Petersburg job market pays well, because it has over 10,000 job opening and the supply of certified workers is very low. The cyber-crime epidemic is expected to triple the number of job openings over the next five years. Employers desperately need workers who are certified in Security+, CISSP, Certified Security Analyst (CySA), Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and Cisco CCNA Security
If you have prior management experience, one of the strongest job opportunities is in project management. In the Tampa/St. Petersburg job market the demand is especially strong for project managers and pays quite well. The Project Management Professional (PMP) is the most sought after credential for this field. Forbes magazine consistently ranks this certification in the top 5 each year. Other certifications in this field include ITIL, PMI-Agile, and Scrum Master
Responsible executive secretaries perform a variety of administrative jobs and clerical tasks. Duties include providing help to managers and employees, helping in daily office needs and managing the company’s general administrative duties. The more skilled executive secretaries can make a surprisingly good income if they have the necessary abilities. Certifications like Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) and QuickBooks can really help to move up in this career.
Instead of having us talk about ourselves, why don’t we see what our clients have to say.
It is called the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). it is a jobs program. WIOA provides free training grants to aid workers get trained, certified and placed in big demand fields such as information technology, cyber-security, business analysis, project management and more. The idea is that there are professions in which there are not enough certified workers and there are declining fields in which there are too many people. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) addresses this issue by providing free funding for job training in big demand fields to those who are eligible for this grant. This training is intended to make your skills marketable so you can get hired and return to the workforce. This is a grant, not a loan. If you qualify, everything is paid for, even the exam. The amounts vary by county but can be as high as $10,000 depending where you live.
This is a jobs program so you must choose a program where there is a high expectation of employment. Each county has a regionally targeted occupations list (RTOL) to choose from. They want to make sure you select an occupation that is in high demand. For each authorized occupation, there will be authorized training programs to choose from.
The three most common categories are: Dislocated Worker, Adult Low Income and Youth (18 -25). If you have been laid off (or your position was eliminated or you were let go because of a reduction in force) from your last job, terminated, received a layoff notice or are a military spouse you might qualify as a Dislocated worker. If you are on Food Stamps or government assistance, or have low income based on what you have earned the last six months and family size, then you could qualify under Adult Low Income. For youths age 18-24, you might qualify if you are not enrolled in school. You must also be found to be “suitable.” This is not an automatic approval. The process is perplexing so it is best to discuss this with us first to see if you qualify.
You need to select a program that can be finished in a short period of time that will increase your marketability enough to help get you hired. We look at the best ways to use your work history to add a certification that will make you attractive to hiring managers and easier to place. Some career choices are perfect for this: cyber-security, information technology, project management, business analyst, human resources, executive secretaries and administrative assistants etc.
There is no cost to you if you are eligible. No reimbursement or any personal expenses. This is a grant, not a loan. Even the exam(s) are paid for. So what is the catch? We will be working with a remarkably bureaucratic government agency. The process is overly complicated. A lot of schools are reluctant to work with WIOA if they can avoid it. I strongly advise you work with an expert.
Yes! The whole purpose of this grant is to help you get back in the workforce. We have partnered with a staffing firm that has devoted a person to work at our facility exclusively with our clients. She assists with your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, interview skills and most importantly, getting your resume in front of hiring managers. We work with over three thousand employers in Central Florida who use us for their training needs. Many of them recruit from us so we get many job leads that are not accessible to the general public. Over half the jobs we have helped place people in are not even advertised.
WIOA Grant Expert
I have over 20 years’ experience in education. I was also laid off from my job several years ago and struggled to get employed again because of ageism. Finally, I got hired again, but this time on the business side. Then I discovered the WIOA grant and knew what a boon this could be for the unemployed or people with a limited income. Most people do not relish working with it becase of all the bureaucracy. The regulations vary from one county to the next and are often changing. However, I have always been good at dealing with bureaucratic paperwork. My experience working in career education gives me an in depth knowledge of the many career options and what it takes to get started. I now specialize in helping veterans, out of work (and low income) workers who may qualify for a government grant that will pay for them to get trained, certified and help them get placed in their field and achieve their goals. Let’s see what you qualify for!