HARRISBURG – To assist with providing young adults who were once in the justice system with educational and skills-building opportunities to better prepare them for good jobs and successful careers, Rep. Lou Schmitt (R-Blair) and Sen. Judy Ward (R-30) announced the Southern Alleghenies Workforce Development Board is the recipient of a $492,509 Youth Reentry Demonstration Project grant through the Department of Labor & Industry (L&I).
“The young adults who will benefit from this grant have paid their debt to society. It is now time for them to work hard toward a better, more meaningful life,” Schmitt said. “I truly hope the people who will be positively impacted by this investment take advantage of this second chance.”
The funding will be used by the Southern Alleghenies Workforce Development Board’s reSTARt Youth program to provide a platform for collaboration between workforce development services, the juvenile justice system, and service providers necessary for strategic removal of barriers faced by youth reentrants, and the vital continuum of care for successful, sustainable, gainful employment.
Pennsylvania’s trade industry, like elsewhere in the country, continues to face a skills gap in which the number of jobs greatly outnumber the amount of available skilled workers. The General Assembly has made career and technical education a top priority so that students of all walks of life can succeed.
“The Southern Alleghenies Workforce Development Board provides invaluable services to those in our community seeking employment opportunities, as well as educational and vocational training programs that provide them with the skills they need to be successful. Youth reentrants face unique challenges and barriers, and the reSTARt Youth Program will equip the local workforce board to help them overcome these obstacles by giving them the chance to get marketable skills and obtain meaningful employment,” Ward said.