The Gift of Grants

Nobody can have too many skills. Building or updating your skill-sets may be exactly what’s needed to make you more attractive to employers.

Gaining credentials and/or certifications can be expensive and daunting, but don’t let this discourage you from furthering your knowledge and honing specific skills. To help with the cost of continuing education, consider applying for grants. As opposed to loans, you don’t have to pay back the grants you’re awarded.

Let’s review one grant that’s currently available in our region called the Gulf Coast Ready To Work Initiative. According to the project’s summary:

• What: The Gulf Coast Ready to Work Initiative targets the petrochemical sector/industry to provide training to in-demand middle skills workers in the industry.
• Populations Served: Long-term unemployed, veterans, other unemployed and incumbent workers.
• Targeted Industry(s) / Occupations: Engineers (of various types) employed in the petrochemical industry. Process operators, Instrument technicians, First-level supervisors in petrochemical facilities, and other middle skills STEM occupations that use H-1B visas.

Take a look at the screenshots below from San Jacinto College to see if any of the certifications or professional development trainings listed might help you become more employable.

If you find that one of these trainings might benefit you, and if you meet the qualifications/requirements, contact a participating college near you to learn more.

• San Jacinto College, Pasadena, TX
• College of the Mainland, Texas City, TX
• Lee College, Baytown, TX
• (http://www.lee.edu/workforce/wp-content/blogs.dir/59/files/2015/10/ready2work.pdf)
• Brazosport College, Lake Jackson, TX

If you’re in a different occupation or industry, check out the resources below to search for available grants in your field.

• Grants.gov
• Federal Student Aid
• United States Department of Labor – Employment and Training Administration – Grants & Contracts
• USAspending.gov
• Edutopia – Grants and Resources

Josie Toth is a Regional Facilitator for Workforce Solutions in the Houston – Galveston area. She conducts job search skills seminars throughout the 13 county Gulf Coast region. After serving in the military, Josie utilized Workforce Solutions’ services. Her desire to help people led to an employment counselor position with Workforce Solutions, which she held for four years, until she found her niche as a Regional Facilitator.

Diego Trevino is a Regional Facilitator for Workforce Solutions in the Houston – Galveston area. Before joining the regional team, he served as a greeter, employment counselor and staffing specialist. Earlier in his career he traveled to South Korea where he taught students English. He uses past teaching experiences and present workforce knowledge to conduct job skills seminars throughout the 13 county Gulf Coast Region.