Job Training and Economic Development (JTED) Grant Opportunity

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is announcing the release of the Fiscal Year 2009 Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Job Training and Economic Development Grant Program.  Following are the links to the Grant Application Instructions and Application Submission Format.

JTED 2009 Application Submission Document (Word Document)

Job Training and Economic Development 2009 Grant Application (Adobe PDF Document)

General Information
The Job Training Economic Development Grant Program (JTED) was created in 1998 with the following program goals:

1.  Foster local economic development by linking the needs of the low wage/low skilled employed worker with the work force needs of local industry,

2.  Foster local economic development by linking the needs of the disadvantaged individual including welfare recipients. with the work force needs of local industry.


Community-based providers (CBO) are to work in partnership with local businesses to provide training to those persons enrolled in the program to meet the skill need of local industry. Community-based providers act as a connection between local employers in need of a better trained workforce and their low wage/low skill workers. Partnerships between community-based providers and local employers are established that provide a mechanism for information exchange and training programs.

Community-based providers establish partnerships with economic development organizations to identify local industries having difficulty recruiting skilled entry level workers. The goal of the program is to develop training programs that link the work force needs of local industries with the job training and placements needs of disadvantaged persons in the community. Partnerships are formed with local employers to design and deliver training programs for disadvantaged persons. Successful completers of the training are placed into employment with participating employers.

With these goals established, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will award grants in two categories:

Category 1 - Industry Linked Training for Low Wage/Low Skilled Workers

Category 2 - Industry Linked Training for Disadvantaged Persons

Eligibility
To be eligible for a JTED grant under either category:

Category 1 - Industry Linked Training for Low Wage/Low Skilled Workers

Category 2 - Industry Linked Training for Disadvantaged Persons

The respondent to this RFP must be a not-for-profit organization with a local board of directors that directly provides job training services. The not-for-profit organization must have a history of serving low wage/low skilled workers and/or disadvantaged persons. Such organizations are referred to as "Community-based Providers" in the Act. Eligible applicants include current entities operating JTED grants.

For more information on the JTED program, please email:
Tammy Stone 

JTED Success Stories
Oscar, graduate of JARC Careers in Metalworking Program

Oscar is a young man who has learned from experience the importance of being resourceful and making the best of his opportunities.  Kicked out of his parents’ house at age 15, he dropped out of high school a year later and soon found himself on the economic treadmill that is common for young men without an education and a direction in life.  After three years of working in a local copy shop, Oscar lost his job and was subsequently homeless.  Despite managing to go back and earn his GED at age 19, he proceeded to work a series of low-paying jobs, none of which earned him enough to get off the streets and into a place of his own, much less onto a satisfying career path.

One day Oscar saw an advertisement in a local newsweekly for the Careers in Metalworking Program, a JTED-funded training program operated by the Jane Addams Resource Corporation (JARC).  Anxious to get his career on track, he applied for and was accepted into the program.  Being a naturally bright and curious person, Oscar thrived in the 14-week training program.  Soon after graduation he landed a job with Rubicon Technology, a fast-growing high-tech manufacturer in Franklin Park that makes and processes synthetic sapphires for industrial applications.  Rubicon has turned to JARC to fill several entry-level production positions in the past two years.  The company’s highly sophisticated manufacturing processes demand individuals with a strong foundation of basic skills and, perhaps more importantly, a capacity to learn.  Rubicon invests heavily in employee training, and works hard to minimize employee turnover by offering good wages and generous employee benefits such as fully-paid health insurance.

Oscar’s job is a complex and demanding one, monitoring the intricate process of synthetic sapphire growth.  He enjoys the challenge of the job, as well as the friendly atmosphere within the company.  A talkative and philosophical guy, Oscar admits that he doesn’t exactly know where his new career is going to lead, but he likes his job and the stability it has brought him, including a new apartment of his own.  And he credits JARC’s staff for taking a chance on him, helping him to better understand what employers want and expect, and giving him an opportunity for a new career.

This story was originally written as part of a forthcoming UIC-CJC evaluation of the impact of JTED funding.