West Michigan’s share of the initial funding is expected to be from $4-5 million for Kent, Ottawa, Allegan, Muskegon and Oceana counties, said Judy Kell, Muskegon County Department of Employment and Training interim manager.

The Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth will use the funds in its No Worker Left Behind program, according to Deputy Director Andy Levin, who was in Muskegon Tuesday.
Levin met with the Muskegon/Oceana Workforce Development Board, which advises the Muskegon County Department of Employment and Training. “Michigan needs to get its workers new skills, especially in the manufacturing sector,” Levin said. “(This grant) will go for No Worker Left Behind. We will retrain workers.”

No Worker Left Behind is Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s administration’s answer to the double-digit unemployment in Michigan. The Michigan program began in August 2007 providing qualified unemployed workers with a $5,000 training grant for one year or $10,000 for two years. Sometime this month, the state will have served 100,000 in the training program, but the state has yet to release information on the number that have been successfully re-employed.

Those receiving the No Worker Left Behind grants in the Muskegon area can use them for training or education programs at Muskegon Community College, Baker College of Muskegon or a similar institution.

All area residents needing employment services must enter the state’s job training programs through the network of Michigan Works! agencies, six of which have contracted through Muskegon County to provide services in Muskegon and Oceana counties. There are two Michigan Works! centers in Ottawa County. Levin said that 38 percent of those going for retraining in Michigan have been in health care-related fields. Half of them were in entry-level jobs, with another quarter in technician jobs and the remainder as nurses. Levin said highly-paid industrial workers might not be able to immediately replace their income in the first job after retraining, but without such assistance many will never be re-employed. As time goes by, retrained workers are able to gain back more of their income, he said.
Levin said Michigan never really recovered from the recession early this decade before the economic collapse of 2008.

Michigan has led the nation in unemployment for more than two years and had a 15.2 percent jobless rate in August, compared to a national average of 9.7 percent. Muskegon County’s August unemployment rate was 16.1 percent, Oceana County 14.9 percent, and Ottawa County 12.9 percent.