If you are unemployed and cannot find a job in your current area of expertise, or don’t have a specific area of expertise, the federal government may have a solution for you.  Billions of dollars have been allocated by the Federal Government to pay for the retraining of America’s workforce.  The majority of these funds are focused on paying for the re-training of those who have lost their jobs or who cannot find a job. 

If you are unemployed and would like to get some additional training, there are a few simple steps that you must follow. First, you should spend some time using the tools made available on this website.  The goal here is for you to find an accessible program of study that would be of benefit to you. 

Once you find a program that interests you, your next step is to locate and visit your local Workforce Support Center. These facilities are located throughout the nation and are usually called One Stop Centers.  You may also inquire about these facilities at your local unemployment office.  Once at the support center, you will need to speak to one of the counselors.  They will take down your information and see if you qualify for Workforce Investment Act training dollars. It should be noted that these support centers are currently swamped by the pressing demand.  As a result, appointments and/or wait times to see a counselor can take weeks, or even months to get. You should therefore start this process as soon as possible.

If you qualify for Workforce Investment Act training funding, you will have to then coordinate your enrollment with your college and your support center counselor.  Essentially, the support counselor will need to verify that the college that you have chosen qualified to receive Workforce Investment Act funding.  Not all colleges accept this type of funding.  This is because there are multiple regulatory, reporting, and contractual requirements that are placed on such colleges.  As a result, your support counselor may suggest alternate colleges that offer same or similar programs of study and who also accept the funding or you may need to visit this website to find additional programs. 

Once you find a college that accepts the type of funding, the support counselor will prepare a training Authorization document in which the Workforce Office promises to pay for your training costs.  This will be a specific document that has a very limited authorization for a specific amount of funds for a very specific program of study.  The Workforce Office will not pay costs beyond that which it has authorized and will only pay for the authorized program of study at the specific college.  Be sure to read the Training Authorization document properly and talk to the college financial aid advisor to understand your personal obligations, if any.  The last thing you need is to be surprised with a tuition bill after you complete the training.

Once you are comfortable that you understand what is covered by the Workforce Office authorization, and you understand your other obligations, if any, you are now ready to begin your study.  Once the program of study is completed, and any required reporting is provided to the Workforce Office, they will pay the amount identified in the Training Authorization.  You do not have to repay this type of funding.  With your new training, you can begin your job search once again, this time with enhanced training.