The Workforce Development Board is applying for a Growth Opportunities grant from the US Department of Labor. One piece of the RFP will be to have paid work experience sites for youth in the 18-24 age range.
We need community employer support to be awarded the grant and are asking that you make that commitment with a support letter (suggested template attached) where you will agree to provide work experience slots. We would handle all payroll and scheduling details. Given the expected range of the grants, we expect that the total paid work experience will be in the 50-70 hour range for each worker, and that the grant will serve about 250 people. The grant would have between 24 and 30 months of active operation over 36 months.
Given that time frame, we ask that you commit to having work experience slots that would be available in 2-3 week slots. If we are funded, this would of course be refined, so that any commitment would adapt to the realities of 2025 and beyond. No one is ever going to force you to take kids if circumstances do not make that feasible.
There will be funding for oversight, but for the purposes of the submission, there will be a pot of funding to cover that, with money awarded based on the actual number of youths any partner serves. Given that by 2025, minimum wage goes to $15.50 and then to $16 in 2026, the realities of budgeting will limit what can be shared for oversight.
This project will target Utica. The WDB believes that this is an important project, particularly at a time when Utica is dealing with severe gun violence issues among its young people.
We hope that you will join us as a partner. We would need your letter of support by March 8.
Please let me know if you can partner with the WDB on this project and thank you for your consideration.
Alice
Alice Savino, Executive director
Workforce Development Board
Herkimer, Madison & Oneida
Chenango, Delaware & Otsego
Use the letter template linked here: https://www.working-solutions.org/news/request-for-community-support
Please put on company letterhead and return to Alice Savino ASAP, please!!
PLATINUM INVESTORS
