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May 7, 2020

State expands online job-training program for unemployment claimants

PHOTO | Contributed Jeanette Weldon heads CHEFA, which funded the expanded online training program.
By Michael C. Bingham

Gov. Ned Lamont earlier this week announced the statewide expansion of a program to make available free online learning licenses to recipients of unemployment insurance, particularly those who have been impacted by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis.

The SkillUp CT program is intended to expand access to online course work for Connecticut residents. Eligible participants now receiving unemployment-insurance benefits may obtain a Metrix Learning license that provides them access to about 5,000 online Skillsoft courses in areas such as information technology, business analysis, customer service, project management, and digital literacy, among others. Anyone with an internet connection and a computer can access the courses.

SkillUp CT also offers training tracks leading to more than 100 industry certifications and will provide career coaching through the workforce boards.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created an incredibly difficult situation for so many people, and this innovative and responsive initiative gives hard-working Connecticut residents a beneficial training opportunity that they can utilize from their own homes,” said Lamont in announcing the program’s expansion.

Originally launched in eastern Connecticut, an expanded rollout of the program across the state over the coming weeks is intended to help laid-off workers upgrade their skills and earn industry-recognized certifications even as the doors to many brick-and mortar education and training providers remain closed.

The program is coordinated by the Connecticut Workforce Development Council in collaboration with the Connecticut Governor’s Workforce Council and the state’s Department of Labor. Based on a model implemented by the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board, it is being offered through Connecticut’s five regional workforce development boards, including the Workforce Alliance in New Haven and the Bridgeport-based Workplace Inc.

The program is funded by the Connecticut Health & Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA) under an existing grant to the workforce boards.

“CHEFA is proud to have partnered with Connecticut’s workforce development boards to continue to build a trained, skilled workforce,” said CHEFA Executive Director Jeanette W. Weldon in a statement. “We’re pleased that during these extraordinary times, CHEFA funding helped the workforce boards expand online training offerings to jobseekers while most classroom training options are unavailable.”

To learn more about and enroll in SkillUp CT, unemployment insurance claimants may visit ct.metrixlearning.com/landing.cfm.

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