More federal dollars for worker retraining on way

Gov. Chris Gregoire announced Wednesday that $27 million in federal stimulus grants will be distributed statewide to help retrain unemployed and low-income workers.

The news comes as a relief to community colleges, which had burned through all the money in a state-funded worker-retraining program after demand went through the roof because of the economic crisis. Some community colleges had been turning unemployed people away.

"By improving the skills of our workforce, Washingtonians will be better able to fill jobs that are currently in demand in our state," Gregoire said in a news release. "Equally imperative is that our communities will be in a better position to attract new jobs and emerge from the recession faster."

The money is available to low-income adults as well as laid-off workers and can be used for a variety of programs, from apprenticeships to classroom instruction.

It will be distributed to the state's 12 workforce-development councils based on a formula that takes into account local poverty and unemployment rates. King County's share will be $5.4 million; Pierce County will get $3.3 million and Snohomish County $2.2 million.

"This is really huge for us," said Margret Graham, a planner at the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County. "This is something that will really allow us to serve many, many more people in our community who need these services — people who are laid-off and struggling."

The council has been e-mailing community colleges this week urging them not to turn unemployed workers away because of the depletion of state funds, saying it plans to devote "a large percentage" of the stimulus money to worker retraining as soon as it arrives.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com