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Madison County workforce development highlights youth work experience, drivers training and summer placements
Summary
County workforce staff described programs that help jobseekers overcome barriers, youth summer employment (about 52 placements), paid on-the-job training, and funding for driver's and vocational training.
Madison County workforce development staff described programs serving youth and adults, including work-experience placements, funding for driving and vocational training, and the summer youth employment program.
Presenters identified themselves as county career-center staff and described two main tracks: an out-of-school youth program for ages 18'24, and an adult program serving older jobseekers. Programs offered by the county career center include work experience placements, drivers training (including support for CDL and LPN training), on-the-job training (OJT) that subsidizes employer wages during training, and referral services for individuals with disabilities.
Why it matters: Workforce development programs aim to help people overcome barriers to employment (transportation, childcare, criminal records, lack of credentials) and to connect residents to in-demand jobs in trades and other local industries.
Key details presented - Youth and adult program scope: The out-of-school youth program serves people 18'24 and can provide high-school equivalency pathways through partnerships with Madison-Oneida BOCES and local literacy outreach. - Work experience and summer youth employment: Presenters said the summer youth employment program currently has about 52 individuals working on county parks and other sites. The program allows hiring of 14- to 20-year-olds and provides early work experience and soft-skills development. - Training supports: Staff said the county can pay for drivers training and help fund in-demand occupational training (examples cited: CDL, LPN). They described Individual Training Accounts (ITAs) and funding for employer-based OJT placements. - On-the-job training funding: Presenters described OJT arrangements where the county helps subsidize wages during training. The transcript includes two related descriptions: one stating the county pays a young person's wages while being trained by the employer, and another describing an OJT arrangement where the county pays up to 50% of wages for the employer (both statements were made in the presentation and reflect program details explained during the session).
Direct example - Presenters described an individual named Jonathan who entered the career center unemployed, received drivers training and other supports, and is now employed full time at Walker Tree Farm in landscaping work.
Follow-up and availability - Presenters said they can help employers and residents access ITAs, OJT, drivers training, and other supports and distributed a flyer on the out-of-school youth program. Staff noted eligibility criteria for the youth program (examples: disability, parenting status, or high-school dropout) and said noneligible youth can access adult services instead.
Ending: The board heard the presentation during the regular agenda; no board vote was taken. Staff encouraged supervisors to share program information with constituents and employers seeking local hiring and training supports.
