WorkPlace Scholarships
WorkPlace Scholarships: It’s about Opportunity
WorkPlace Scholarships are about one concept — providing Opportunity to allow people to help themselves and better provide for their families. WorkPlace Scholarships provide this Opportunity with privately-funded job training dollars for low-income people -- including low-wage workers, youth, and individuals who have been laid off who require job training, but cannot afford to pay for it on their own. Many cannot access public funds, which are often depleted well before the need is satisfied. WorkPlace Scholarships are used for job training or retraining to get a job, earn more, or advance in the workplace.
WorkPlace Scholarships are not a hand-out – they provide individuals with opportunities to help themselves and move ahead. What better gift could a person receive than the opportunity to better support their family?
Scholarships provide job training for adults and youth -- often living in our urban centers. Scholarship recipients include men and women — young and old — from all ethnic backgrounds.
Specifically, WorkPlace Scholarship recipients include:
People living on a low-income — they may be unemployed or working part-time or full-time and need job training and education to gain a job, increase wages, or advance in jobs. These families struggle as they live week to week or paycheck to paycheck.
People who have been laid off from their jobs and need retraining to re-enter the workforce — it may be technology training or training for a new profession. Families of dislocated workers must also survive on a limited income and deal with unusual financial stress.
Youth and Young Adults (ages 18-24) who need job training and support services to learn about the world of work and secure jobs. These youth are low-income, and may be “at-risk” -- including high school drop-outs, pregnant or parenting teens, may have a substance abuse history, and/or involved with the court system. With a Youth Scholarship, participants may enroll in an occupational skills training program which includes support services such as childcare and transportation.
WorkPlace Scholarship Benefits
Although the Opportunity is focused on WorkPlace Scholarship recipients, the benefits of WorkPlace Scholarships are five-fold. Not only do they provide opportunities for individuals by providing job training, but they provide opportunities for communities by providing taxpayers and residents who have the means to spend more within their communities; they provide opportunities for employers in Southwestern Connecticut by developing skilled workers to fill job openings; they provide opportunities for contributors to support a quality program that makes a difference and is tax-deductible; and they provide opportunities for The WorkPlace to continue to meet its goal of training people in the 20 communities it serves.
CLICK HERE for WorkPlace Scholarship contributors
Why do we need WorkPlace Scholarships?
Although The WorkPlace receives state and federal funding, there are not enough public funds to support training for the people in Southwestern Connecticut who need it. Privately-funded WorkPlace Scholarships are critical and help supplement job training needs. And, although the number of WorkPlace Scholarship contributors is increasing, the demand for job training in our region is increasing even faster. Simply put, we continue to have more skilled jobs than skilled people. This is due to two primary reasons: As the economy churns and more people are laid off, many of them need retraining or upgrading of skills to get back into the workforce. WorkPlace Scholarships can prepare them to re-enter the workforce with the skills they need to be successful. Additionally, we need to fill thousands of job openings due to retirements and growth, according to the Connecticut Department of Labor.
TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION, please click HERE for the form (Adobe Acrobat .pdf)
For companies or individuals interested in learning more, contact:
Charmane Leone
Manager of Development and Community Relations
Phone: (203) 610-8550
E-mail: cleone@workplace.org
For media and corporate communications matters, please contact:
Jo Shute
Director of Marketing, Communications and Planning
Phone: (203) 610-8504
E-mail: jshute@workplace.org
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