Joel Bongwele was promoted from housekeeper to supervisor at University Health after he earned a computer science certificate as part of the city's Ready to Work program. He now manages the software used to schedule housekeepers.Ready to Work has opened a new front in its $200 million workforce development effort by subsidizing on-the-job training for new employees and new skills training to boost the career prospects of those already employed.
Subsidizing employers to do their own on-the-job training and skill-building has several upsides, said Mike Ramsey, executive director of the city’s Workforce Development Office, which oversees Ready to Work: Employees earn while they learn, and local companies improve their business outcomes.will allow companies to hire those who may have recently earned a certificate or degree but have no experience, defraying the cost of training them on the job.
Travis Wiltshire, owner of CNG Engineering, said he wished the $5,000 cap for training existing employees was higher for companies like his, which need highly skilled, specialized engineers, but he said the program will still help his company train residents for jobs he has had to look elsewhere to fill in the past.
Ramsey rejects the notion that employers haven’t been involved with the program, noting that more than 400 have “pledged their commitment to Ready to Work.”