N.H. Job Corps Center wins Labor Dept. OK

The federal Department of Labor has given final approval to a long-awaited new Job Corps Center in Manchester.

When completed, the center is expected to serve 500 students, 300 of whom would live on campus. It will provide academic assistance, career technical training, high school diplomas and GED certification with the goal of getting students into the workplace. As planned, the New Hampshire center will focus on homeland security job training, including careers in government agencies, health-care institutions, high-technology companies and manufacturing and transportation firms.

Announcement that the plan has passed the department’s technical site review was made Wednesday in a joint statement by U.S. Sens. Judd Gregg and John Sununu.

The next step in the process is land acquisition for the proposed Hackett Hill site, which is expected to begin in the spring. Target date for completion of the project and for classes to begin is 2010.

New Hampshire is currently only one of two states that does not have a Job Corps Center.

New Hampshire Labor Commissioner George Copadis said the center “will help attract new companies to New Hampshire while providing our less fortunate young people with a new opportunity to join New Hampshire’s workforce.” – JEFF FEINGOLD