The best reason to get job training is to prepare for an occupation that employers need and that pays well - a good job.  Two Workforce Solutions products, available on line at no cost to you, can help you make sure that the education or training you want to pursue will really help you get that good job:

• The “Focus On” industry and occupation profiles and Occupations in Demand pages on this website will help you identify the best job opportunities in our region, now and in the future. “Focus On" profiles also list schools in the Gulf Coast region that offer courses for each of the targeted occupations.
• The CareerCube has great information on four important industries in our area--Health Care, Energy, Construction, and Aerospace.  The CareerCube also has General Career Resources to assist with your career planning.

Once you know the career you want to pursue, our staff can help you figure out how to pay for any training or education you may need.  We can help you complete a budget, then determine your eligibility and help you apply for different types of financial aid.

• You can check out different resources to pay for school on CareerCube, and you can check out a variety of on-line resources and web sites below:

  Collegeforalltexans.com
  Federal Student Aid Information Center
  U.S. Department of Education Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

• Pell Grants are federal grants that don’t have to be repaid.  They are only awarded to undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor's or professional degree.  The maximum Pell Grant for the 2009-2010 award year is  $5,350. How much you get will depend not only on your financial resources, but also on your cost of attendance, whether you’re a full-time or part-time student, and whether you attend school for a full academic year or less. You may receive only one Pell Grant in an award year, and you may not receive Pell Grant funds from more than one school at a time.
  

Federal Pell Grant
Financial aid calculators

• Workforce Solutions Scholarships support training for some of the region’s high-skill, high-growth occupations.  If you’re interested in one of these careers, we can contribute to a financial aid package.  To see which occupations Workforce Solutions supports with its scholarship dollars, click here.

  Individuals who receive training and education scholarship support from Workforce Solutions must use a training provider and program in our Training Provider Network.

The Workforce Solutions Education and Training Provider Network is a group of organizations approved to provide various educational and training services to our customers.  Services are grouped into two categories: Basic Skills and Occupational Skills.

Basic Skills include adult basic education classes, parenting classes, English as a Second Language instruction, job readiness and general computer literacy training (ex: Microsoft Office Products).  If you need to brush up on your basic skills, learn English, or prepare for a GED, there are a number of programs in the community available at no charge.  Our career office financial aid specialists can help you find one.   Workforce Solutions can also pay for GED testing.

Occupational Skills refers to all courses or programs that prepare you for a specific occupation. This includes courses of study leading to associate and bachelor degrees.

Workforce Solutions provides scholarships for customers who want and need training in a wide array of High-Skill, High-Growth Occupations.   This report presents performance data for the different providers our customers used to obtain training.