GRCC selected as recipient of $1.18 million Job Corps Scholars Program grant

GRCC selected as recipient of $1.18 million Job Corps Scholars Program grant

GRAND RAPIDS — Grand Rapids Community College is one of 20 colleges nationwide to receive a grant from the United States Department of Labor to provide at-risk youth with job skills training and other educational opportunities.

The school announced on Monday that it will receive $1.18 million from the Department of Labor for the newly-minted Job Corps Scholars Program, which is supported by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014.

The program is aimed at students between the ages of 16 and 24 and designed to build on their existing strengths and experiences to train for, and obtain, quality employment. It includes a 12-month career technical training program that is followed with a year of employment counseling to increase the likelihood of finding a good job.

The program will accept roughly 80 students and will take a holistic approach to job training, utilizing employer panels, site visits, networking opportunities and mock interviews with feedback. GRCC plans to work with community partners to select the students with a strong preference for those who have faced significant obstacles to success, such as homelessness.

“GRCC will play an essential role in West Michigan emerging from the coronavirus crisis,” GRCC President Bill Pink said in a statement. “Our economy will be strongest when everyone has opportunities to contribute and succeed. I’m proud this program will help people overcome obstacles and gain skills that can lead to rewarding careers, but also can transform their lives.”

Mott Community College in Flint was the only other Michigan school to receive the grant, which was designated for accredited, two-year, public community colleges; accredited, public two- and four-year historically black colleges and universities; and accredited tribally controlled colleges and universities.