Free program prepares Elk Grove residents for jobs in IT and manufacturing. Here’s how
The city of Elk Grove recently partnered with a Sacramento nonprofit and an adult education center to offer free courses to Elk Grove residents interested in becoming certified in the fields of information technology and manufacturing.
Elk Grove’s Workforce Readiness Certification Program includes career counseling, job placement and a retention bonus for those who complete and graduate the program, federally funded through the American Rescue Plan Act.
Cyber Proud, a nonprofit that started in 2020, offers training and “pre-apprenticeship” programs in IT support, software development and cybersecurity.
The city is also offering manufacturing training in areas including forklift operations and welding in partnership with the Charles A. Jones Career and Education Center, an adult education school within Sacramento City Unified School District.
The nonprofit partnership first began in June, when Cyber Proud enrolled 40 Elk Grove residents; since then, they’ve extended the offer to 120 residents. The contract between Elk Grove and Cyber Proud lasts through 2025.
“We’re investing in people,” said Luis Aguilar, program manager for Elk Grove’s economic development office. “Part of the art of funding was to provide opportunities for residents to get into higher paying jobs, people who lost jobs or are underemployed.”
The application is open to Elk Grove residents who want to apply for the Manufacturing Skills Training or the Information Technology Training.
No previous experience is required. Applicants should be at least 18 years of age and must live within Elk Grove city limits.
Cyber Proud founder and CEO Coleen Morehead said her goal is to get people who wouldn’t even have thought that tech was in their realm of possibilities to enter the program.
“We are able to provide really what is the industry standard and technology skills for individuals who are either out of work looking to enter into a technology career. The idea was to offer this training at no cost to individuals who really needed help,” said Morehead.
She added: “There’s still a lot of people who need those hands-on skills and the certification to be eligible for employment, right in the tech field.”
Her goal is to equip residents with the skills and knowledge necessary to enter available technology positions.
“It isn’t that they’re just looking for a job, but they’re really looking for a career. They also learn about the importance of the certifications that are needed,” Morehead said. “Anywhere from small business, working in some support role, all the way up to connecting our trainees to different state agencies.”
She said that in the past, residents who graduated through their programs have found jobs at Caltrans, the California Department of Public Health, the Department of General Services and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
City economic development specialist Sara Rodrigues emphasized the diversity of people going through the workforce development training.
“We have everything, from someone straight out of high school, which works really well with the high school program that is currently in place in Elk Grove. We have a stay-at-home mom for 12 years that wants to come back into the workforce and wants some more training to help with that,” Rodrigues said.
“People of all different ethnicities and races are going through the program. The programs are just very diverse. So, that’s also something that we are really proud of: the fact that it’s not just helping one group but all of our Elk Grove residents. I think that’s really important.”
Online application details are available at www.cajmanufacturingtraining.com/elk-grove and at www.cyberproud.org/chart-your-path.
