City residents to receive work-force training skills
State awards LBHA $97,800 grant for schooling at Brookdale
BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer

LONG BRANCH - Residents of the Long Branch Housing Authority (LBHA) are being offered an opportunity to improve their skills in the work field.

The LBHA received a $97,800 literacy skills grant from the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) that will be used to provide basic work force training to residents of the housing authority.

"The housing authority is very proud and honored to receive this grant," said LBHA Executive Director Tyrone Garrett last week.

"Not only does the [housing authority] build housing, we also try to help build self-sufficiency," Garrett said. "[The grant program] is a continuance of the city of Long Branch Housing Authority's effort to increase self-sufficiency among the residents in our community.

"It is not every day we receive a phone call that says apply for this, we have money for you," he added. A check was presented to Garrett by David J. Socolow, the commissioner of the state's Labor Commission, at a Jan. 25 ceremony held at Brookdale's Long Branch Higher Education Center on

Broadway.

"It is vitally important that we upgrade the skills

of our workers," said Socolow

at the ceremony. "This is not about just

knowing how to read.

"This is about workforce

competency and

work-force literacy," Socolow added.

In the past, the literary skills program has been directly offered to businesses in the state, according to Socolow, who explained that businesses would apply for the grant money in order to train employees of their company.

"Instead of directly going to businesses, we decided last year that we will work with housing authorities," Socolow said. "We offered the Long Branch Housing Authority to be the bridge to find the workers.

"They know who are in the work force and need the training," he said, adding, "We made available the opportunity for the grants."

The funds issued to the LBHA will be used to train 90 workers who live within the housing authority complexes or who receive HOPE VI funding, according to Socolow.

Classes will be provided by Brookdale in Long Branch and the workers will be educated in basic communications, reading, mathematics and computers, Socolow explained.

"We are pleased to be part of this collaborative effort with the Department of Labor to provide training to Long Branch Housing Authority clients," said Dr. Peter F. Burnham, president of Brookdale Community College.

"Courses will be offered at Brookdale's newly renovated Long Branch Higher Education center, making this partnership a prime example of Brookdale's commitment to opportunity with excellence and accessibility," Burnham said.

The grant was one of four awarded to housing authorities in the state. Other recipients include Camden, Jersey City and Paterson housing authorities, which were awarded a total of $233,000 in grants to train 240 individuals, according to a press release from the LWD.

"The grant … is an important part of Governor Jon S. Corzine's economic growth strategy," Socolow said.

"New Jersey is committing nearly $100,000 to assist lower-wage workers in Long Branch to strengthen their foundation of basic skills on which they can build career ladders and become more competitive in the workplace," he said.

The literary skills grant program is part of The New Jersey Supplemental Workforce Fund for Basic Skills (SWFBS), which was established in 2001. The SWFBS program provides funding for basic skill programs to promote adult literacy in the workplace by providing basic skills training for unemployed and employed workers.

The SWFBS law allocates funding for basic skills training for incumbent workers employed by businesses located in New Jersey. The incumbent worker training grants awarded from these funds are known as literacy skills grants.

The LWD sets a priority on awarding grants that demonstrate clear and meaningful outcomes. The key outcomes established by the LWD for literacy skills grants are wage gain, opportunities for career advancement for workers in lowwage, lower-skilled occupations and job creation.

The intent of the literacy skills grant is to provide funding for basic skills programs to promote and improve adult literacy in the workplace for incumbent workers in low-wage, lower-skilled occupations.

For more information on the grant and other training initiatives of the LWD, visit www.nj.gov/labor.