County continues work to help job seekers during pandemic with training, assistance
PIMA COUNTY, Sept. 3, 2020 - A contract extension and additional grant funding approved at the Pima County Board of Supervisors Sept. 1 meeting will help train and prepare hundreds of county residents for employment opportunities.
The approval extends the contract for JobPath Inc. and allocates an additional $500,000 from the County’s disbursement of federal CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds.
“This program is essential for students to successfully complete their training and education in critical career paths that fit our most demanding employment needs,” said Pima County Economic Development Director John Moffatt. “The exceptional opportunity to utilize grant funds to address the incremental issues created by the pandemic provides additional support to allow these students to focus on their training and complete these programs in a timely manner.”
JobPath Inc. is a nonprofit workforce development program that provides job and career training services to help adults transition into living-wage jobs. The program works with low-income adults with high school diplomas or GEDs, to sponsor them through long-term training, and help place them in high-demand jobs.
The CARES Act funding will be used to assist JobPath enrollees experiencing the negative impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Funding will be used for rental assistance, utility payments, and expenses associated with telecommuting and tele-education.
The contract approval extends the County’s agreement with JobPath to the end of Fiscal Year 2021 as well as increasing the contact amount by $750,000 to a maximum amount of $2,718,000 over a four-year period. Among other benchmarks, JobPath is required to provide monthly reports to the County.
JobPath has been an important partner in the County's workforce development efforts, which are outlined in the County’s Economic Development Plan 2019-2021 Update.
The contract also provides for closer collaboration and cooperation between JobPath and Arizona@Work, run by the County Community and Workforce Development, to provide employment resources, career services and training opportunities for a minimum of 255 job seekers. Pima County continues to see prospects for new jobs and ensuring the successful addition of these students to our qualified workforce continues to be a priority.
The County’s workforce development efforts include supporting the development of a stronger K-12 education pipeline; supporting technical education; assisting mature workers in developing new marketable skills; assisting current and former military members and their families with employment opportunities; and supporting employment-readiness efforts for adults with barriers to employment.
Students in the JobPath program must be at least 18 years old, be eligible to work in the United States, have resided in Arizona for at least one year and be a Pima County resident when enrolled.
Media Contact:
John Moffatt
Pima County Economic Development Director
John.Moffatt@pima.gov
520.724.4444
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