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Pima Co. job program covers living costs as you learn

COVID relief funds add $500,000 to program
Posted at 6:51 PM, Sep 15, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-15 21:51:36-04

TUCSON, Ariz. - The COVID-19 response has knocked a lot of people out of work, and prompted some to learn new skills to move to new careers. Now, Pima County has an extra half million dollars in COVID relief funds to cover job training and living expenses for students in job training.

Pima County works with JobPath to help people train for new jobs in demand in our local economy--often they’re highly skilled technical trades like aerospace work.

Now, Federal Coronavirus relief is giving the county more ability to help more people seeking job training---and help cover their cost of living while they train for new jobs.

Pima County Economic Development Director John Moffatt says, “As they're working their way through the programs, many of them work, many of them lost their jobs. So we're trying to sustain them. They're all in, in programs that are critical to our job shop and workforce. So we want them to finish.”

Moffatt knows the skilled workers who come from these programs help local companies grow and attract new employers to the area.

Coronavirus relief funds let Pima County add a half million dollars to county support for JobPath. That’s on top of the $750,000 Pima County was already putting into the program. Moffatt says there’s the potential for another $250,000 in Federal aid for a possible total of $1.5 Million dollars towards job training and support for students as they learn.

You can apply for help by simply contacting JobPath. The office is at 616 N Country Club Road, Suite 110, Tucson, AZ 85716. Phone: (520) 324-0402

Moffatt says, “They also do work very closely with the Pima County One Stop (Job Center), and Pima College. So, if you're a student at Pima College, and are interested in the program you can reach out to JobPath, you can reach out through there, through the college counseling service, as well as the Pima County one stop.”

To qualify for the job training assistance you must be at least 18 years old, be eligible to work in the U.S., and be a Pima County Resident who has lived in Arizona for at least a year.