Gov. John Carney signed an executive order Monday giving unemployed Delawareans opportunities for job training.
Thousands of Delawareans have lost their jobs because of COVID-19 and its economic impact, many permanently.
Carney is working with Delaware Tech and other state and community partners to start a workforce training program, giving those out of work the opportunity to take part in low cost job retraining that can get them back into the workforce.
But Carney says workforce development is not a new priority in the state.
“Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we as a group and as a state had identified workforce development and training as a high priority for our ability as a state to compete with other states in our region and across the country.”
The Workforce Development Board and the Department of Labor will help dislocated workers get new jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic through certificate programs and job placement priority.
Delmarva Power region president Gary Stockbridge chairs the Delaware Workforce Development Board. He says he and the other members of the business community are excited to offer this opportunity to workers.
“We recognize that there are a lot of Delawareans anxious to get back to work. But we also recognize that they may not be going back to work at the same job they had before. They may be in need of additional skills.”
Carney says the board will work with already established programs, including ones at Delaware Tech, to assist workers who need more skills to get back in the workforce.
The program will have employers prioritize hiring workers that come through this training to help those directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program hopes to start as soon as possible, but no later than the end of the year.
The state is pulling $10 million from the federal Coronavirus Relief funding it received earlier this year to initially get the program up and running, and looks to prioritize jobs that may be needed during the pandemic.
