Q:Is certification for the WIA program required annually? A: No. Individuals are certified upon initial enrollment into the program and do not have to be recertified every school year.
Q: Is employment a requirement of the program? A: No. Employment is not required during training; however, after completion of training, an individual must gain employment in the sponsored field of study within 90 days and report any changes of employment to the career manager for one year.
Q:Is application for FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) required? A: Yes. It is a requirement that all participants apply for FAFSA. All sources of funding have to be monitored to verify that participants do not exceed the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC).
Q: Are graduation fees covered by the WIA scholarship? A: No.
Q: Are additional classes, which are required for an AA degree, funded through the WIA program? A: No, only classes specifically needed for a certificate are funded by WIA; however, students may use other sources of funding in order to participate in classes which are required for an AA degree.
Q: Are students able to work while receiving funding from the WIA program? A: Yes.
Q. What programs are sponsored by the Workforce Training Center? A. Programs currently sponsored by the Workforce Training Center are:
Q. What financial assistance is provided by the Workforce Training Center? A. The program is designed to assist with tuition, books, supplies, state board exams and license exams, as funding is available.
Q. What is the student required to pay? A. Each individual is expected to cost share educational expenses. PELL Grants, Foundation Scholarships, student loans, personal funds, as well as the Workforce Training Center’s WIA funds can assist you in financing educational expenses.
Q.Is repayment of funding required after completing the program and obtaining employment? A. No. The Workforce Training Center’s WIA programs are performance based. No monetary reimbursement is required; however, students are required to complete the field of study, to pass certification exams, to graduate, to gain employment in the field of study and to maintain employment for one year. In addition, each individual must maintain monthly contact with the career manager during training, complete a monthly class attendance form and report any issues that arise.
Q. After completing certification and obtaining employment, what effect does changing employers during the first year have on my commitment to be employed for one year? A. When the new employment is reported, the Workforce Training Center Career Manager verifies the new employment and continues to follow-up the new employment for the remainder of the required one year.
Q. Are the general education classes, which are needed as pre-requisites, funded through the WIA scholarship? A. No. The WIA scholarship will not pay for general education courses or pre-requisites. After an individual has been accepted into the approved field of study by the program department, the Workforce Training Center may then assist eligible participants with core classes in that approved field of study.
Q. How is eligibility for the WIA program determined? A. To determine eligibility, a Pre-Screening Tool must be completed. This Scholarship Pre-Application may be accessed by clicking here and printing the application. Complete the application in its entirety and mail or bring the application to the Workforce Training Center. A Workforce Training Center Career Manager will meet with the individual to determine eligibility through multiple assessments and documentation of information such as income, unemployment compensation, etc.
Q. Why are other programs not sponsored by the Workforce Training Center? A. A Regional Targeted Occupation List (TOL) for Bay, Gulf and Franklin Counties is published annually by the Gulf Coast Workforce Board. The occupations listed on the TOL are considered to be high-wage, high-demand occupations for this region. The Workforce Training Center is unable to sponsor programs that are not high-wage and high-demand occupations for this region. Research is on-going to sponsor fields of study as the need arises in the region.
