Washington, D.C. – A new On-The-Job training (OJT) initiative announced by the Fenty Administration today will help encourage businesses to hire more workers, boosting the economic recovery and providing job training to unemployed residents.

“Unemployment in the District has dropped for six consecutive months, but even as we add jobs, there is still much more that needs to be done to help families that are struggling to make ends meet in this national recession,” said Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. “Many businesses are still reluctant to hire, and many residents need training to succeed in the workplace. This new program will encourage employers to hire more workers, and will provide new training to District residents looking to get back to work.”

The new initiative is the latest in an unprecedented investment in workforce development, job training and job creation by the Fenty Administration, including:

• $2.6 million in Job Training grants awarded last month to community-based organizations for occupational training in green jobs and health care, and work readiness and re-employment services for 1,300 residents.

• $11 million for work readiness and subsidized employment through Project Empowerment for 1,000 adults who face acute barriers to employment.

• $2 million in new partnerships for On-The-Job Training, skills-building, and job placement in the areas of weatherization, energy efficiency and other green construction and maintenance areas.

• $600,000 U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) grant for On-The-Job-Training in health care.

• $2 million for a new adult Career and Technical Education (CTE), pre-apprenticeship certification and training program in construction, carpentry, HVAC, and electrical training at Cardozo Senior High School and Phelps, and a hospitality management adult program at Roosevelt’s Hospitality High School.

• New Career Centers in Ward 8, Ward 7 and Ward 1.

• $15 million in regional grants from U.S. DOL in health care and green jobs Labor Market Information to project where new jobs will develop.

• $500,000 to establishing the Washington Workforce Development Corporation, a workforce intermediary that will focus on training and creating connections to career path jobs for employers and job seekers in critical high growth areas such as health care and green jobs and our largest employer, the federal government.

“These important investments in developing a skilled workforce are essential to our economic recovery – and for providing hope and opportunity to individuals and families in the District,” said Joseph Walsh, Director of the Department of Employment Services (DOES), the District’s labor and workforce development agency.

“Taken together, this represents an unprecedented investment by the Fenty Administration of millions of dollars in adult job training,” said Director Walsh. Walsh noted these programs and initiates don’t even take into account the impact of the more than $400 million in unemployment compensation paid to help D.C. residents and their families replace lost wages, nor does it include the nearly $30 million additional funds invested by partner agencies such as the Department of Human Services and the Department of Social Services in adult job training, nor the millions invested through the OSSE and UDC in adult basic education and training.

Under the new initiative, the Fenty Administration announced today:

• The new DC Works On-The-Job (OTJ) Training Program will provide employers up to 50 percent of a new employee’s wages for up to 26 weeks.

• The funding will help employers offset costs of OJT, encouraging them to hire more workers sooner than they thought they could.

• The program will be targeted to help those who are unemployed in areas of the District that have been severely impacted by the national recession, and in particular to those who face barriers to employment or who need to develop new skills to become ready for work. Eligible workers will be referred to the private employers by the One Stop Career Centers.

• Employers will interview candidates and make final hiring decisions.

• Businesses will receive an incentive to hire more workers more rapidly, and workers have new job opportunities and the training they need to keep and retain those jobs and be successful.

Employer partners in the new program will be recruited beginning this fall, focusing on small business and those in high growth / high demand sectors.

Media Contacts

• Kate Stanton, (202) 727-2823