Napa County Awarded Post-Wildfire Job Training Grant

NAPA COUNTY, CA — The California Employment Development Department has awarded Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties a $995,000 grant for job training following the October wildfires. The money was awarded to the Workforce Alliance of the North Bay, which assists job seekers with career counseling, skills assessment, resume and interview workshops, mentoring, recruitment assistance and training.

Napa County sustained the most economic damage in the wildfires and its share of the nearly $1-million grant will be subcontracted to Career Point North Bay's Napa County center, Workforce Alliance North Bay's Executive Director Bruce Wilson said.

"Napa County took a substantial hit in its business and residential structures," Wilson said.

"The Napa County economy depends on visitors, and Napa was getting the word out that the county was still open for business," Wilson said.

"We want to make sure this grant helps," Wilson said.

The Workforce Alliance will work with businesses to assess the impact of the fires on the economy and unemployment and with local chambers of commerce and small business development centers to develop customized business and jobseeker services.

Funding for the grant is from the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Governor's discretionary funds and is under administrative authority of the Employment Development Department and the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

By Bay City News Service

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