Tony proudly served in the US Army for 8 years. When he returned to civilian life, he didn’t expect to find himself unemployed in the middle of a global pandemic. With a family to support and a baby on the way, he was getting discouraged.
With IT experience and technical skills from the military and enrollment in computer science classes he had been hopeful that there would be ample opportunity for a good job. Looking for help in his job search, Tony found out about WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act) through a training provider webinar and found his way to workNet Batavia where he was deemed eligible for WIOA services. He enrolled in courses, paid for through the WIOA tuition grant, to get his Information Technology Certification.
While working on his certification he took advantage of some of the other resources at workNet Batavia including the WIOA funded On the Job Training (OJT) program. The Employment and Employer Services (E&ES) OJT team helped Tony refine his resume and sharpen his interviewing skills as they worked to connect him with employment opportunities where he would receive additional training while getting paid.
After a few disheartening months of submitting resumes, interviewing, and receiving no offers, Tony’s luck finally changed. Using the OJT letter provided by the E&ES team Tony received an OJT job offer with Lending Solutions Inc. and as he put it “can now take care of his family again.” Tony has been with LSI, inc. for 4 months and they are as thrilled with him as he is with his new job and the training he has been provided.
The benefits to the employer? Not only have they gotten an outstanding new employee, but LSI will also be the recipient of a partial reimbursement of Tony’s salary to offset the cost of training him for his new position. This is a great example of WIOA money doing exactly what it is supposed to-helping job seekers to upgrade their skills for a job in a high demand, high growth industry while assisting employer partners to find the talent that they need to thrive.