Governor Jeb Bush’s Operation Paycheck program has helped to train thousands of laid off Floridians, 1,269 just in Central Florida. The program was created to quickly prepare laid-off workers (laid off as a result of September 11th) for demands occupations that relate to their skills.

Locally, 1,269 individuals enrolled in training through an Operation Paycheck scholarship. To date 194 have completed training and those employed are averaging $12.65 per hour. But, the demand was for the program was so strong that the Agency for Workforce Innovation announced that the program’s funds are gone on July 15th.

Good news for the 117 individuals who have Operation Paycheck training scholarships in hand but have not yet enrolled into classes. WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA is committed to honor all 117 scholarships using their local training dollars.

On a local level, WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA continues to work to find creative ways to use local training dollars to honor scholarships to Operation Paycheck participants who have not yet received a scholarship. We expect more details to come throughout the next two weeks. In the meantime, residents who are laid off should apply for unemployment and use the career services at their local ONE-STOP CAREER CENTER (1-800-757-4598).