The goal of this pilot project is to develop an ongoing training program that directly addresses skilled labor shortages throughout the steel manufacturing and fabrication industry. By improving the quality of the workforce, the county will be able to ensure that the current and future staffing needs of this industry are met. Additionally, by submitting the proposal to fund this project, the WIB will gain valuable experience needed to work with other high-skilled technical firms. The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors today nearby doubled funding aimed at training welfare recipients to become childcare providers. This will allow the county to enhance the quality, safety and availability of childcare, particularly for infants and sick children and during non-traditional hours, in order to meet the growing demand for childcare as welfare recipients transition from welfare to work.
Funding is provided through a state block grant allocation to the county.
Surveys have found a high rate of illiteracy among the people served by these libraries as well as a demand for English language proficiency assistance in both the community and the schools. This program is designed to enable public libraries to develop programs to enhance the English language proficiency of students and their parents, thereby improving academic achievement by the student participants. The project would be a cooperative effort between the County Library, the Ontario-Montclair School District, the Fontana Unified School District, the Montclair Community Collaborative, First Steps Child Development Center of Montclair, Bilingual Family Counseling Services of Ontario and Montclair Por La Vida. The two sites were chosen because of the high concentration of identified English Language Learners on campus at Kaiser High School, where the public library operates a joint-use library facility, and in the proximity of Monte Vista Elementary School in Montclair. The grant would provide for staffing, supplies, instructional resources and equipment including computers, educational software and tape recorders, plus installation and setup costs.