Updated
Updated · PR.com · Jun 18
New Directions Wins $100,000 Grant to Expand Digital Skills Training for 300 Central Ohio Residents
Updated
Updated · PR.com · Jun 18

New Directions Wins $100,000 Grant to Expand Digital Skills Training for 300 Central Ohio Residents

1 articles · Updated · PR.com · Jun 18

Summary

  • $100,000 from Columbia Gas of Ohio and the NiSource Charitable Foundation will let New Directions Career Center expand its Digital Pathways to Employment program in Central Ohio.
  • The funding is aimed at 300 women, older adults and other historically underserved residents, tying digital skills training to sustainable employment and economic mobility.
  • The two-year, cohort-based program offers hands-on digital literacy instruction, individualized career coaching, job placement help, devices and short-term connectivity support.
  • New Directions said the expansion should raise workforce participation for people re-entering the job market, widen career advancement opportunities and strengthen Central Ohio's talent pipeline for high-demand industries.

Insights

As federal digital equity funds face cuts, can local grants alone solve Central Ohio's vast skills divide?
Will this training lead to $20/hour jobs in growing sectors or just more low-wage office work?
What strategies will this program use to succeed where Ohio's state initiatives have failed women and minorities?