Are you unemployed or under-employed? Have you been laid off or been notified there will be a lay-off? If so, you might be eligible for a grant that can really help you get trained, certified and placed in your new job. There is no cost to you. Let’s see if you qualify!
With the number of computer networks doubling every 5 years, the job demand for Information Technology employees continues to shoot up for this high paid career. If you qualify you can use the WIOA grant to get the certifications the employers we work with are seekingasking for|: CompTIA, Microsoft, Cisco, Azure and more
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of information security analysts is projected to grow 32 percent from 2022 to 2032, which is much faster than average. Cyberseek.org’s supply and demand heat map shows over 5500,000 job openings across the United States. Some markets are hotter than others. The Tampa/Clearwater/St. Petersburg job market pays well, because it has over 7,000 job opening and the amount of certified workers is very small. The cyber-crime epidemic is expected to triple the number of open positions over the next 5 years. Employers badly need employees who are certified in Security+, CISSP, Certified Security Analyst (CySA), and/or Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH).
If you have management experience, one of the hottest 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 certification for this field. Forbes magazine consistently ranks this certification in the top 5 each year. Other certifications in this field include ITIL, Agile Master, and Scrum Master
Responsible executive secretaries perform many administrative jobs and clerical tasks. Duties include providing support to managers and employees, helping in daily office needs and being responsible for the company’s general administrative requirements. The more skilled executive secretaries can make a surprisingly good salary if they have the necessary abilities. Certifications like Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) can really help to move up in this profession.
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 help people get trained, certified and placed in high demand fields such as IT, cyber-security, business analysis, project management and more. The idea is that there are fields in which there are not enough certified people and there are declining fields in which there are too many people. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) addresses this problem by providing free funding for job training in high demand fields to those who qualify for this grant. This training is intended to make your resume marketable so you can get hired and get back into 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 pick something where there is a high likelihood of employment. Each county has a regionally targeted occupations list (RTOL) to choose from. They want to make sure you select a career that is in high demand. For each approved occupation, there will be approved training programs to choose from.
The three most prevalent 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 could qualify as a Dislocated worker. If you are on Food Stamps or government assistance, or have low income based on last 6 month’s earnings and family size, then you could qualify under Adult Low Income. For youths age 18-24, you might qualify if you are not going to school. You must also be found to be “suitable.” This is not an entitlement. The process is convoluted so it is best to speak with us first to see if you qualify.
You want a plan that can be finished in a short period of time that will increase your marketability enough to help get you a job. We look at the best ways to use your experience to add a certification that will make you attractive to recruiters and easier to get hired. Some occupations are perfect for this: cyber-security, information technology, project management, business analyst, human resources, executive secretaries and administrative assistants etc.
There is no charge to you if you qualify. Nothing to pay 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 an extremely bureaucratic government agency. The steps are confusing. A lot of schools are reluctant to work with WIOA if they can avoid it. I strongly advise you consult with an expert.
Yes! The whole purpose of this program is to help you get back in the workforce. We have partnered with a staffing company that has dedicated 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 available to the general public. Over half the jobs we have helped place people in are not even advertised.