Southeast Community College
and other Nebraska community colleges will help Nebraskans affected financially
because of COVID-19 by offering the Nebraska
Workforce Retraining Initiative Scholarship. The
initiative is funded by $16 million from the state’s $1.08 billion federal
Coronavirus Relief Fund allocation.
“It's important
for people to know that job loss as a result of furlough or a closed business
isn't the only way to become eligible,” said Rachael McLeod, administrative director
of resource development at SCC. “Even if they are working, if their wages
decreased or their hours were reduced as a result of COVID, they may be
eligible for this training as well.”
Most scholarships will cover the full cost of
the training program, with gap financing available to qualifying students to
pay for most non-covered costs.
McLeod said SCC will allocate around $3.2 million among 3,000 scholarships throughout
its 15-county service area. She advises potential applicants to apply by Aug. 23,
2020.
“This scholarship opportunity is about moving
quickly to train and place persons whose employment has been negatively
impacted by COVID,” said Greg Adams, Nebraska Community College Association executive
director. “Knowing the labor needs of Nebraska’s employers and moving quickly
to provide needed training is what our colleges are prepared to do.”
All WRI programs are set to begin this fall,
with most ending by December and some lasting until early spring. Examples
of the programs being offered include computer training, healthcare, business
administration, welding technology, truck driving/CDL, and criminal justice. A
full program list, and more information, is available at getnebraskagrowing.nebraska.gov (link has been removed).
For more information about
the scholarship, including eligibility criteria and SCC’s offerings, go to https://www.southeast.edu/nwri/