Program to Help Residents Find Jobs

Welfare recipients, former drug abusers and people who have been without a job for over a year can get help finding work through a new federal job-training program, officials said this week.

The program is designed to aid Ventura County residents who are at least 22 years old and have multiple barriers to employment, said Aram Saroyan, spokesman for the Job Training Policy Council of Ventura County.

Anyone who may qualify is encouraged to apply, Saroyan said.

Although funded with federal dollars through the Job Training Policy Council, the employment program will be run by CALTAC, an Oxnard job training and placement firm.

CALTAC will hold workshops three times a week to teach participants ways to land a job, including preparing resumes, filling out applications and succeeding at job interviews.

Job searchers can also use CALTAC’s office to create resumes on a computer, phone potential employers and fax other information, Saroyan said. The program will also reimburse an employer for up to half of a participant’s salary for a six-week training period, he said.

The Job Training Policy Council is a federally funded, nonprofit organization that provides employers in the county with a trained work force, Saroyan said. It will oversee $7 million in job training funds in Ventura County this year.

For information about the program, call Joanne Norton at 983-7398.