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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 County loses money for job training Snohomish County's low unemployment rate drives the cutbacks By Mike Benbow, Herald Writer EVERETT - The strong economy in Snohomish County means the area has lost $1.5 million in federal job training funds this year, but the cutbacks shouldn't hurt too deeply, officials said. The cuts were in funds for the Snohomish County Workforce Development Council, which helps distribute grants designed to train or retrain workers. "Our state got cut quite a bit," said council president Sue Ambler, noting Washington's training funds were cut 9 percent. She noted the cutbacks were based on the low unemployment rate here as opposed to other areas of the country. But despite the 4.3 percent jobless rate in the county in June, training is still important. Many employers have said they'd like to expand but are having extreme difficulty in finding the trained workers they need. The local jobs agency received $6.7 million last year and $5.2 million this year, a 22 percent cutback. Ambler said the agency carried forward some money from last year to aid it this year. "Our state got cut quite a bit and it's not going to get any better," she said. But Ambler noted that the Legislature increased funds this year for technical and community colleges to train workers. And instead of just relying on Department of Labor funds, Ambler said her agency and its partners plan to aggressively seek grants from other federal agencies and groups such as the Department of Education and the National Science Foundation. "We'll go after some targeted funds," she said. "Our job is to figure out where the training needs are and go after money to meet those needs." The council has a partnership with school districts, community colleges and the Snohomish County Economic Development Council, and all will seek funds for job training, Ambler said. "We may end up with more money, it just won't be going through our hands," Ambler said. "I actually think we will serve more people this way by integrating our dollars." Herald writer Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459 or benbow@heraldnet.com.

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