Almost three dozen city residents have been selected through a lottery for initial enrollment to Paterson’s job training program, announced mayor Jose “Joey” Torres on Wednesday night.
Out of the 34 candidates 20 will be selected for tuition paid training during the first round of “Paterson’s on the Job Training Program.” The 34 candidates have to take an exam, submit to a background check, a drug screening, and pledge to remain drug free, according to the city.
Those who pass the background check, drug screening, and meet other requirements but are not selected during this round will be pushed to the second round of the city’s on-the-job training program.
The program was created through Torres’ $37 million road reconstruction project which required contractors to either hire city residents or contribute to a job training fund. All the companies that have received contracts from the city have opted to contribute to the job training fund, said officials last year.
The city, the county, and the school are picking up the $12,000 tuition tab for each of the 20 trainees attending school to learn carpentry, plumbing, welding, and electrical skills. As the trainees acquire skills attending school on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, they will utilize them working for the city on Thursdays and Fridays.
The following individuals were selected for the job training program:
Matthew Morris
Quinten McDuffie
Lila Jones
Ounties Rodriguez
Christopher Miller
Thomas McKay
Kevin Brabson
Alonzo Traylor
Reginald Fletcher
Kaheem Davis
Eddie Thomas
Donovan Scott
James Evans
Jamie Baumann
Haywood Singletary
Garrett Edwards
Luis Ruiz-Gaston
Niem Dumas
Jeremy Torres
Angel Hernandez
Osborne McIntosh
Melissa Ormsby
Razzack Windley
Antoine McLaurin
Terrence Compton
Durant Monroe
Jacoby Warren
Jessie Smith
Dwayne Loney
Rosemary Akor
Antoine Alexander
Shawn Milligan
Elmo Suarez
William Mc Fadden.