Explanation
This legislation authorizes the Director of the Department of Education to modify Contract EL016315 with the Columbus State Community College for by extending the contract termination date from September 30, 2015 to September 30, 2017.
As the City works with private and public sectors to improve our economy and attract new jobs, our community understands the importance of preparing our citizens for the jobs of today and tomorrow. In 2013, the Columbus Education Commission (CEC) made several findings and recommendations regarding career readiness.
The City and Columbus State Community College have identified an important community need to focus career readiness efforts toward matching our unemployed and underemployed citizens with the jobs of today. In 2014, the City asked Columbus State to lead the initiative called FastPath. Fastpath was designed to identify and connect at-risk, underemployed, and unemployed adults to technical skills and employability training that will prepare them for the workplace. Under FastPath, Columbus State has worked with the Central Ohio Work Force Investment Corp. (COWIC), area employers, and other community partners to identify employment needs in the community and to develop work-based training programs administered through a range of services, including: recruitment, assessment, skills training, support services, job placement, job coaching, data collection, and program assessment.
This contract was awarded to Columbus State Community College pursuant to the relevant provisions of Chapter 329 relating to not-for-profit service contracts. Columbus State was selected as the service provider due to their extensive experience in providing work-based training programs, their ability to provide ancillary services to program participants, and their existing relationships with community stakeholders.
The Department of Education has already fully funded the program and will continue to administer this contract...
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