WS Chronicle

Forsyth Tech is holding a series of information sessions this month and in January and February to present details about its Back to Work short-term training program, which is designed to train unemployed North Carolinians for employment and new careers. Residents who qualify for the program, which is funded through a state grant, receive the training at no cost. The information sessions are free and open to the public.

Ninety-minute information sessions will be held:
• Today (Thursday, Dec. 5) at 10 a.m. at Forsyth Tech’s Northwest Forsyth Center, 3111 Big Oaks Drive in King
• Today (Thursday, Dec. 5) at 1:30 p.m. at the Forsyth Tech Stokes Center, 165 Dodgetown Rd. in Walnut Cove
• Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 10 a.m. at Forsyth Tech’s Northwest Forsyth Center in King
• Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 11 a.m. at Forsyth Tech’s Swisher Center, 108 Swisher Center Rd. in Kernersville
• Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Forsyth Tech Stokes Center in Walnut Cove
• Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 10 a.m. at Goodwill, 2701 University Pkwy.
• Thursday, Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. at Forsyth Tech’s West Campus, 1300 Bolton St.
• Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. at the Forsyth Tech Northwest Forsyth Center in King
• Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. at the Forsyth Tech Stokes Center in Walnut Cove

Forsyth Tech’s Back to Work program focuses on training qualified residents for in-demand jobs as electronic health records specialists, electrical linemen, facility maintenance technicians and welders. Additional courses and training are available to unemployed veterans and NC National Guardsmen for positions as emergency medical technicians, firefighters and pharmacy assistants.
Many of the Back to Work classes will begin in January. The remainder will start in February and March. Students who enter the Back to Work program receive job training and retraining, employability skills testing, academic advising, counseling and career coaching at no cost and may be eligible to receive industry-recognized, third party credentials to increase their job placement opportunities upon successful course completion.

In addition, the program pays registration fees, books and certification costs for approved classes that can lead to jobs.

The Back to Work program at Forsyth Tech is open to all residents of North Carolina, regardless of the county in which they live.

This is the second time Forsyth Tech has received state funding for the Back to Work initiative. In 2012-2013, 138 students out of an initial class of 154 completed the Back to Work training for a completion rate of 90 percent.

Unlike the first Back to Work grant, which focused on individuals in Forsyth and Stokes counties who had exhausted their unemployment benefits, the new grant allows Forsyth Tech to fund anyone who is unemployed, underemployed or meets income guidelines, regardless of the county in which they live.

For more information, call 336-734-7630 or visit www.forsythtech.edu and click on the “Back to Work” banner.