UTICA — A free virtual job fair will be held on Wednesday, September 28 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Businesses and job seekers from across an eleven-county region are invited to attend: Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie, Onondaga, and Cortland counties.

The online event is sponsored by the Workforce Development Board of Herkimer, Madison, and Oneida Counties’ (WDB/HMO) Regional Apprenticeship Development and Readiness (RADAR) grant project.

The nearly $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, funded by the Apprenticeship Building America grant, will develop job training programs that will help connect local job seekers with high-demand industries, with individuals with disabilities as the primary participants.

“RADAR will help connect people with disabilities with pre-apprenticeship training and registered apprenticeship opportunities,” says Project Director Sommer Edwards. “NY has a 36 percent point gap in the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled adults. Not only are apprenticeships needed to meet employer demand, but also to address income equality for people with disabilities. If people with disabilities fail to get good-paying jobs, they lose, taxpayers lose, and employers needing workers lose.

“Our goal is to address the need for workers in critical segments of the regional economy and provide people with disabilities opportunities they currently lack to enter apprenticeships. The ‘Pipeline to Apprenticeship’ virtual job fair is a great way for us to kick off the RADAR grant, and begin bridging connections between employers, training providers, supportive service agencies, and job seekers. We will need involvement from all parts to ensure the success of this grant.”

The job fair utilizes the user-friendly Premier Virtual platform, which is feature-rich for both businesses and job seekers. Platform training is available before the event, and there are also training materials located within the system.

The link to register is pvapi.premiervirtual.com/s/xm62lW. Businesses select “Organization.” Job Seekers select “Attendee.”

RADAR staff will be on-hand at the job fair to speak with individuals who are interested in participating in the program. To learn more about our apprenticeship programs, please visit working-solutions.org/training-grant-programs/apprenticeships

This program is 100 percent funded by a United States Department of Labor - Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) award of $2,999,993.

-Information provided by Workforce Development Board