Grant from stimulus money to aid vets, military spouses

A $900,000 grant from federal stimulus money will pay for a program to help veterans and military spouses train for high demand jobs in the area.

Officials for N.C.’s Eastern Region Military Growth Task Force and Eastern Carolina Workforce Development Board announced the grant in Jacksonville on Wednesday to be used for a two-year program expanding employment and training in the region. It was awarded by the N.C. Department of Commerce and the Division of Workforce Development.

“The Veteran’s Initiative Project is a result of strategic planning efforts through the Military Growth Task Force to attract and retain veterans and military spouses in Eastern North Carolina to fill many of the needed jobs requiring their unique attributes,” said Jay Bender, task force interim executive director.

“We are excited about being able to offer these education and employment services to our military community,” said Mona Padrick, workforce development board chairman.

Tammy Childers, development board director, said the grant program will be managed by partnership of her board and the task force. It will pay for an employment specialist at Coastal Carolina Community College in Jacksonville and two specialists at Employment Security Commission Job Link centers, which serve nine counties served by the workforce board. The area includes those counties with military personnel from Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point Marine air station, New River air station, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

The project will provide training and skill certification opportunities in the high demand, high growth sectors now identified as health care, education, child care, construction and skilled trades, emerging green jobs, aviation and aerospace, and advanced manufacturing.

“I see so much potential in this for employers and prospective employees,” said Childers.

The training can begin almost immediately for jobs identified through the governor’s “JobsNOW 12 in 6” initiative, with local community colleges offering short-term training programs in several of the areas including nursing assistant, phlebotomy, health-care billing and coding, office and clerical support, masonry and tile cutting, plumbing, carpentry, welding, food service, auto body repair, manufacturing, and heating and air conditioning and industrial maintenance.

Training for jobs in the aviation industry is available at Craven Community College for job opportunities at Fleet Readiness Center East at Cherry Point, she said. “And, with Spirit coming into the area, they will begin training in the next six months. We do see aviation and aerospace as emerging industries.”

Childers said individual training grants vary significantly, from about $500 for some skills training to as much as $2,500 a year for full community college tuition and books for a year. No living income stipends are connected with the Veteran’s Initiative Project training grants which all come through JobLink Career Centers in New Bern and Goldsboro or, in Jacksonville, in partnership with Coastal Carolina Community College.

Priority will be given to veterans who want to stay in North Carolina and eligible military spouses entering the workforce or transitioning between jobs and careers, as well as those who are under-employed and in need of new skills to move up the career ladder.

Ronald K. Lingle, president of Coastal Carolina Community College, and Sherwood Southerland, regional director of the Employment Security Commission, both spoke at the event attended by about 40 people, endorsing and offering support for the program which ends March 31, 2011.

Sue Book can be reached at 252-635-5666 or sbook@freedomenc.com.