Grants to fund job training in Lake County

A trio of grants will help a Lake County agency train laid-off workers for a variety of new jobs, officials said Tuesday.

The money, totaling nearly $377,000, could give dozens of people the skills needed to find or keep jobs, said Terri Berryman, director of the Lake County Workforce Development Department, the agency that will oversee the training.

One grant, for $152,727, originated with the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act but is being delivered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. It will provide job training for between 30 and 35 people who were laid off from other jobs, Berryman told the county board's health and community services committee Tuesday.

The training could occur at the College of Lake County or other sites.

The second grant, for $24,181, is a reallocation of already approved federal funds, Berryman said.

The third grant, for $200,000, will provide on-the-job training for people who were laid off from old jobs but have become employed again.

The workforce department will partner with local employers and the unemployment office to find workers to train, Berryman said.

The grant will provide assistance for between 35 and 50 workers. The program will target people who have been unemployed at least 22 weeks in four Lake County communities with higher-than-typical unemployment: the Round Lake area, North Chicago, Zion and Waukegan.

Several health committee members praised the program Tuesday.

“I think it's fabulous,” Grayslake Democrat Melinda Bush said. “There are so many people hurting, and I think it's nice for them to know (there's help).”

The health committee agreed to accept the grants. The full board could take similar action on Tuesday, Jan. 11.