By Western Nevada College
Thursday, April 7, 2022
Western Nevada College is launching the Realizing Opportunities for the American Dream to Succeed (ROADS) Project to help retrain Nevadans for a new career and enable them to become key contributors to the state’s economy.
The project is a collaboration between WNC and Nevada Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation to assist unemployed and underemployed Nevadans by providing them with educational training and skills needed for positions that are in high-demand occupations and industries.
WNC plans to help the underemployed and unemployed residents with training in manufacturing, health care, technology and building trades so they become employed in stable jobs with career opportunities and benefits. The average training time is six to eight weeks.
“General awareness is one of the biggest pieces of this program. People don’t know that there are all these things that we can do to help them get there,” said WNC Workforce Development Liaison Michael Boreham, who is coordinating the ROADS Project. “Common thought is that if you are going to go back to school to get these certifications, you are going to have to find the time, and you are going to have to find a way to pay for that time, the classes and all of the other necessities. Making that change really scares a lot of people off, but with the ROADS program we can help keep them afloat by being able to pay for certain costs.”
Michael Boreham
The state needs a significant group of residents to move from underemployed to fully employed. This includes 20 percent of Nevada’s population, or 650,000 people — a swelling group that hasn’t pursued postsecondary education, including obtaining accredited workforce certifications, after graduating from high school.
The program will include recruitment, assessment, training enrollments, soft skills training, job placement, job retention and advancement and mentorship.
“One of the biggest messages about the program is that it’s not a cookie cutter program,” Boreham said. “You don’t have to fit into a box to have the ROADS program help you. It’s situational. We can custom fit it to you. Not everybody’s situation is the same and this is going to help all of the different issues and obstacles that people are facing. It’s the most flexible support program I’ve ever seen.”
For information about ROADS, call Boreham at 775-470-9242 or email michael.boreham@wnc.edu.
Individuals interested in the program can apply at wnc.edu/roads.
