Explanation
Background: 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. The City has asked Columbus State to lead an initiative called FastPath, which is a program 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 will work 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 is being awarded to Columbus State Community College pursuant to Section 329.15, which allows for the City to negotiate 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, their existing relationships with community stakeholders, and that City funds will leverage other funding provided by a network of public and private participants.
The Department of Education will fund and administer this contract on behalf of the City. This ordinance authorizes the Department of Education to enter into a contract with Columbus State Community College for implementation of the...
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