Mayor shows Detroiters how to access $100M in adult scholarships; announces 4 upcoming scholarship fairs

City using $100M in ARPA funds to help Detroiters prepare for good paying jobs, start new careers
Get paid as you learn to read, earn your diploma or receive career training
Enrollment for $40M Jump Start Program begins today at DetroitAtWork.com or 313-962-WORK and through 18 community partner organizations
Mayor announces 4 upcoming Adult Scholarship Fairs to give Detroiters hands-on help

Mayor Mike Duggan last night walked Detroiters through a step-by-step process for accessing their share of $100 million in American Rescue Plan Act funded adult scholarships to help them rejoin the workforce in a new job, or to receive training to start an entirely new career. During an evening address hosted at City Hall and through Zoom, the Mayor introduced residents to five key programs designed to help them improve their livelihoods, no matter where they are in their employment status or job readiness.

“There is a job available today for every Detroiter who wants to work and half of them do not require a college education,” said Mayor Duggan. “Thanks to President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act, we have $100 million in adult scholarships that can help Detroiters who may have been unemployed for more than six months, or who want to be trained for a good paying job in a new industry, access those opportunities.”

The $100 million in scholarships are available across the following five categories, which are designed to support individuals, no matter where they are in their career path:

Learn to Earn Scholarships. Residents who currently read below the 8^th grade level can get paid $10 per hour up to 20 hours per week ($800 per month) to improve their reading skills. Hours are flexible and are available on nights and weekends, as well as in person and online. Students typically raise their reading skills by 2 grades over 14 weeks. Residents unemployed for the past six months also are eligible for another $300 Jump Start scholarship per month.
High School Diploma Scholarships. Any Detroiter who was scheduled to graduate in 2018 or earlier can get paid $10 per hour for up to 20 hours per week ($800 per month) to earn their diploma or GED. This can help open the door to many good paying jobs that have a high school educational requirement. Hours are flexible and are available on nights and weekends, as well as in person and online. More than 100 diploma scholars already have graduated! Residents unemployed for the past six months also are eligible for another $300 Jump Start scholarship per month.
Skills for Life Scholarships. Get hired by the city and paid $15 per hour for three days of work per week and two days of class time. Job opportunities include Park Ambassador, Neighborhood Cleanup, Door to Door Outreach. Classroom work includes training opportunities in a range of careers, including Truck Driver (CDL), Heavy Equipment Operator, Information Technology, Skilled Trades and Healthcare positions. These careers have starting pays ranging from $17-$25 per hour. Today, the city has more than 200 Skills for Live scholars being paid fulltime for work and training. Training lasts from three months to one year, depending on field.
50 Different Career Training Scholarships. The City offers 20 paid and 30 unpaid training programs, offered at no cost to the participants. Training programs are offered across a series of in-demand professions, including health care, information technology, hospitality, trucking and logistics, skilled trades and more. Each training program is detailed in a new Detroit at Work career guide, available at DetroitAtWork.com/guide.

Information and assistance also is available at nine Detroit at Work Centers across the city:

24424 W McNichols
18100 Meyers
14117 E Seven Mile
18017 E Warren
5901 Conner
2470 Collingwood
2835 Bagley
9301 Michigan Ave
16427 W. Warren

Jump Start Scholarships. Enrollment opens today (Tuesday, January 30) for this new scholarship program offered to any Detroiter who has been unemployed for at least the past six months. The program is a partnership between the Duggan administration and City Council, including program sponsors on City Council, Coleman Young II and Mary Waters. Scholarships are for the Learn to Earn and High School Degree programs, and any part time training. Between paid income and stipends for living expenses, the program pays an equivalent of nearly $20 per hour, which is considered a living wage. Last week, Mayor Duggan announced 18 community partner organizations that will directly engage with long-term unemployed residents to get them connected to these programs and provide mentorship along the way.

Training income will not affect State assistance eligibility

An important aspect of Jump Start is that income earned through the program does not affect a participants MDHHS benefits, including cash assistance, Medicaid, state emergency relief and food assistance/SNAP benefits.

“The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is committed to providing easy access to public assistance benefits for Michiganders in need while removing any barriers to finding jobs,” said Dwayne Haywood, senior deputy director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Economic Stability Administration. “Employment means better opportunities and allows the people we serve to be successful and realize their dreams. MDHHS is pleased to partner with Mayor Duggan and the City of Detroit on Project Jump Start because it’s a great way to remove barriers to employment. While these Detroiters learn job skills, MDHHS will make sure that they are not penalized for improving themselves by providing for them to continue to access to safety net public assistance benefits.”

Mayor announces details of 4 upcoming Scholarship Fairs

To provide direct assistance to Detroiters wishing to enroll in any of these scholarship programs, Mayor Duggan announced a series of four Scholarship Fairs that will take place during the month of February (details available at www.detroitatwork.com):

February 2 at Detroit At Work/Payne Pulliam, 18017 E. Warren, 10 AM – 2 PM
February 9 at Detroit At Work/Northwest Activities Center, 18100 Meyers, 10 AM – 1PM
February 16 at Boys and Girls Club, 16500 Tireman, 10 AM – 1 PM
February 22 at Detroit At Work/Durfee Innovation Society, 2470 Collingwood, 10 AM – 1:30 PM

Several partner employers with employment opportunities will be in attendance at these fairs. In addition to scholarship opportunities, attendees also can access other support programs, such as Project Clean Slate if they need help getting a non-violent offense from at least five years ago expunged from their record if they’ve had no convictions since then.