Walmart Foundation's Job Training Initiative
 Kathy Swartout
The Walmart Foundation has stepped up with an initiative aimed at providing job skill training to those hit hardest by the economic downturn. This year alone, we awarded more than $6.5 million in grants to programs designed to help train displaced workers and prepare them for the next chapter in their careers. Our grants to the League for Innovation, the AARP Foundation and Experience Works underscore our commitment to helping people in our communities across the country by training approximately 2,250 women, mature workers and others. Kathy Swartout, pictured to the right has been out of work for nine months. Without money for a new suit or gas to get her to interviews, finding a job seemed impossible. Kathy then learned about Experience Works’ JobReady program, sponsored in part by the Walmart Foundation. The program helped Kathy enroll in courses in Microsoft and business, polish up her resume and improve her interview skills. Armed with gift cards for gas and clothing for the job search, Kathy shared that "times have been difficult, but Walmart and Experienceworks have helped lighten the load." See how our grants will help others who are out of work get the skills they need for jobs available today: League for InnovationOur $3.5 million grant to the League for Innovation will help the increasing numbers of unemployed Americans return to school. Dedicated to community colleges, the League will re-grant the funds to eight schools that have developed innovative plans to expand their existing programs to help people who have lost their jobs find new opportunities. These community colleges will serve as models for other institutions looking to grow their own programs. AARP FoundationWe granted $1.5 million to the AARP Foundation to support its Women’s Scholarship Fund. This program helps women aged 40 and older acquire new job skills, training and education. Women in particular don’t always have the resources in the second half of life to get the education they need. As a result of our support, 450 women will earn scholarships of $500 - $5,000 to support their professional development. The majority of the scholarship recipients are women returning to the workforce after an extended absence, after holding jobs with limited pay and growth opportunities or after raising another family member’s child. Experience WorksWe awarded a $1.5 million grant to Experience Works, an organization that helps older people get the training they need to find jobs in their local communities. The grant will support a pilot program serving low-income workers over 50 who do not qualify for Senior Community Service Employment (SCSEP) or other government programs and lack resources to ready themselves for employment. Our grant will help Experience Works rapidly respond to the unmet needs of unemployed or underemployed older workers in crisis, helping preserve their dignity, prepare them to look for a job and give them hope for the future. By the end of 2009, Experience Works expects to equip up to 800 men and women with the skills they need to re-enter the workforce. Since January 2009, the Walmart Foundation has awarded more than $16 million in grants for workforce development and job training programs.
Click the links below to add this entry to social networking sites.
|
|
|