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California Employment Development Department
CALIFORNIA LABOR SECRETARY ANNOUNCES $2 MILLION TO RECENTLY SEPARATED VETERANS' PROGRAMS FOR JOB TRAINING

SACRAMENTO - California Labor Secretary Victoria Bradshaw today announced the award of $2 million in Workforce Investment Act funds for veterans programs to train recently separated veterans. This collaborative initiative will provide training and employment services to more than 565 veterans in California to help them transition into a new career.

"We are proud to support training for recently separated California veterans in high demand occupations," said Bradshaw. "Veterans have proudly served and protected our country; now it is our turn to serve them. These funds will help address the growing and changing workforce needs while simultaneously helping recently separated veterans reenter civilian life."

Five programs in the state have been selected for funding. Partners include county governments, One-Stop Career Centers, veterans organizations, workforce training consortiums, and military representatives.

"Each program is designed to help recently separated veterans access employment opportunities in their local communities" said California Employment Development Department (EDD) Director Patrick Henning. "Specialized training enables veterans to supplement the skill sets they've acquired and become eligible for new, indemand occupations at an accelerated rate."

The five programs are expected to run from April 2006 through March 2008 and include training for veterans in health care, food service, construction, manufacturing, and transportation.

Funding comes from the Governor's 15 and 25 percent portion of the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The California Labor & Workforce Development Agency places a high priority on serving our recently separated veterans by allocating up to $2 million of California's federal WIA grant. These monies help serve recently separated veterans who have returned to California. The recently separated veterans may be returning to California with a disability from the war or other unique challenges to seeking gainful employment in California.

The WIA grant is administered by EDD.