Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands, Inc. has been awarded a $241,779 workforce inclusion grant from the Center for Workforce Inclusion, Inc.
Almost 90 percent of this grant – originally from the U.S. Department of Labor – will provide on-the-job training stipends to no less than 22 low-income older Bay Staters living in Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket Counties. This workforce inclusion grant will support Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands, Inc. in operating its Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP).
In its 56th year, SCSEP is a cornerstone program of the Older Americans Act and the only federal job training program targeted exclusively to low-income, older jobseekers. Job seekers who participate in SCSEP become skilled, reskilled or upskilled to meet the local employment needs in their community.
“Older adults will soon be the largest single segment of the American workforce,” said Gary A. Officer, Center for Workforce Inclusion President and CEO. “It is an economic necessity that we ensure our older jobseekers are equipped with the tools required to be successful in the workforce. Therefore, I am very pleased to continue our support of Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands, Inc. for the 45th consecutive year.”
“SCSEP was a lifeline during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Maryanne Ryan, CEO of Elder Services. “Jobseekers participating in SCSEP were able to keep learning and earning by training from home. Now, the participants are back at their training sites where they help local nonprofits—including the Center for Coastal Studies, Cape Cod Toy Library and the Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living—carry out their missions.
“By hosting a SCSEP participant, Helping Our Women gained an important team member who contributes not only to the daily operations by managing our food pantry, but to our program planning initiatives too,” says Executive Director Gwynne Guzzeau. “This has made a tremendous difference in our organization and in other Provincetown nonprofits who engage with the program.”
Over the past year, several SCSEP trainees have exited the program to accept stable, year-round employment and the program is currently enrolling new participants.
If you are 55 or older, unemployed, and eager to get back to work, call Kerri Lyford at 508-394-4630 ext. 540 to find out if SCSEP is a good fit for you.
