Sioux Falls, SD (KELO AM) – Much of the half-million dollars set aside for the city’s workforce development programs was dished out on Friday; with Globe University, Training Solutions Institute, and the Multi-Cultural Center picking up the biggest pieces of the pie.
Overall eight organizations will receive at least $10,000 to help develop workers. In some cases the money will be used to help with education or on-the-job training, in others it will help connect workers with opportunities. Such is the case with Employment Edge, which plans to use $25 thousand towards helping nonviolent criminals find work after being released from custody.
Sioux Falls’ Multicultural Center plans to use just over $70 thousand towards training immigrant workers. Christy Nicolaisen with the center says many of those workers need skills that we take for granted. “Maybe they haven’t made it through school, maybe they haven’t had a lot of formal schooling, or have the still sets for certain jobs.” She says even something as basic as punching a time clock is something that some immigrants need to learn. “In some countries, you just do things differently, and if you don’t have some of those job skill sets, companies can’t hire you.” She added.
A total of 38 applications were processed. Twenty-six of them were rejected, and four remain in consideration for the nearly $60 thousand that remains in the fund.