GRANTEE:                   Bay Area Council

ADDRESS:                  200 Pine Street, Suite 300   

                             San Francisco, CA 94104

AMOUNT:                    $2,999,185

DURATION:                January 5, 2004 - January 5, 2007 (36 months)

POPULATION SERVED:  This project will serve 759 incumbent workers in the field of Information Technology (IT).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:  This project is providing training to incumbent workers of the partnering employers in areas identified by those employers as high demand and equivalent to the H-1B level.  Training will be provided by a mix of traditional class time and e-learning facilities, both self taught and instructor led.  Training will take place in many locations across the nation, including sites in California, Arizona, New Jersey, Michigan, Florida, and Texas.  Each company has identified specific needs and training courses, most focus on Information Technology and Computer Science areas. 

Partnering employers will provide $2,436,491 in match and an additional $807,328 will be provided by training providers and governments.  Cash contributions of $300,000 will be provided and $2,943,819 will be provided as in-kind contributions, equaling $3,243,819 total match. 

The training aims to award industry recognized certifications where appropriate.  The training will lead to improved job performance, resulting in merit-based increases in salary and, over-time, the replacement of H-1B visa holders.  The anticipated wage gain for employees is between three to eight percent.

Participating individuals will be selected from partnering employers based on the following criterion: 1) pre-existing employee training plans; 2) performance evaluation records; 3) IT customer needs and requirements; 4) work projects currently in place and work projects planned; 5) a determination that the employee will have a high probability of successfully completing the suggested courses; and 6) supervisor assessment.  Eighty-five percent of the project participants will possess a bachelor’s degree while the remaining 15 percent will possess extensive industry experience and/or an Associate’s degree. 

KEY PARTICIPANTS:  Ford, Global Visa Solutions, IBM, Pinnacle Technical Resources, Robert Half International, BayTEC, Bay Area Council, State of California ETP, Alameda County WIB, Workforce Investment San Francisco. 

MEDIA CONTACT:     Andrew Michael

                            (415) 981-6600