Homestead Becomes a Provider of Training to Unemployed Workers

Homestead Schools, Inc., located in Torrance, Calif., has recently been approved by the South Bay Workforce Investment Board (SBWIB) to provide classroom-training services to qualified individuals under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998.

The main purpose of the Workforce Investment Act is to help "dislocated" persons - people who have been laid off due to severe business conditions - get vocational training in a different field, build a new career in a thriving industry, and then find suitable employment.It allows such persons to get off unemployment or welfare rolls and once again become productive members of the society.

If you are one of the employees who got laid off from Mattel, Xerox, Boeing, Linens & Things, United Airlines, Mervyn's, Circuit City, Home Depot, Advantage Rent A Car, DHL or Aerotech you can qualify up to the full amount of $22,500 tuition for the vocational nursing program in Homestead Schools.  Currently and through 2010 the Government through WIA has special funding specifically for people who got laid off from the companies mentioned above.

The U.S. economy, California economy in particular, has been in an unprecedented recession now for more than six months. Each month more than half a million people have been losing jobs during this recession. For most of them, unemployment benefits are the only source of income and they're available only for a fixed duration. Prospects for future employment in their previous field of employment are often bleak.

Manufacturing jobs have been hit the hardest. But so are the jobs in construction, real estate, auto dealerships, insurance, banking, hotels, entertainment, and retail. One sector that's still a beacon of hope is the healthcare industry. You do not hear of nurses being laid off or having their hours curtailed. In fact, nursing homes, clinics, and hospitals continue to hold job fairs to recruit qualified nurses to fill ever-increasing slots. Many of them even offer sign-up bonuses.

So state agencies such as Employment Development Department and WIA are charged with the mission of retraining unemployed workers to become part of our healthcare industry as one of the few selected areas where dislocated persons can start a new career.

Within the healthcare field, vocational nursing is the most favored occupation. The program is of relatively short duration - one year - which includes theory and clinical instruction after which an individual can take the board exam to obtain the license to practice. One prerequisite is that you need to have a high school diploma or GED. You must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident with a valid social security number.

The obvious question is, how are you going to pay for such training if you just got laid off? Work Investment Act was written to answer this question. Federal and state governments have joined hands and resources to fund such training for dislocated workers. Work Investment Board that administers this program; selects certain providers of vocational training after a rigorous examination of the schools curriculum, instructors, administrative staff, financial resources and, above all, the placement success of its graduates.

Homestead Schools just became one such provider. As an approved training provider, Homestead Schools can now accept applicants referred by the South Bay Workforce Investment Board and One Stop Career Centers. If the WIB approves the application, the unemployed person can have his or her entire tuition funded by the government. The only thing required of the student is to attend the program, pass the NCLEX, and obtain the license to practice vocational nursing. Homestead will assist the student obtain employment.

One Stop Career Centers are located throughout the South Bay in cities including Hawthorne, Inglewood, Gardena, Carson, El Segundo, Lawndale, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, ect. Your first step should be to call student counselors (310) 791-9975 who will put you in touch with one of these centers. Such offers do not come often.