Nearly 90 Oakland County employers will share more than $4.1 million in Going PRO Talent Fund training grants, awarded during the first cycle of fiscal year 2024 by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
The grants will allow Oakland County employers to hire and train hundreds of new employees, including apprentices, plus expand the skills of 2,291 existing workers, in various fields.

“A key ingredient for Oakland County and its businesses to grow and thrive is a skilled and talented workforce who can adapt to the evolving technology of the future,” said Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter. “We are happy to partner with the state and employers to help connect people to training and workers to the high-paying jobs that will drive the success of our residents and businesses.”

Since the Going PRO Talent Fund program’s launch in 2014, more than 650 Oakland County employers have received more than $18 million in Going PRO Talent Fund grants, to train 16,000-plus people.

Across the state, more than 800 Michigan businesses have benefitted from a total of $45 million in Going PRO Talent Fund grants during the first cycle of this year’s program. A total of 173,000 Michigan workers have received high-skill, in-demand job training through the program since its launch.

What Others Are Saying:

• “This year, we received the second-highest number of Going PRO Talent Fund grants across the state and the largest amount of funding we have ever received. I want to thank our team of Business Services Professionals in our six Oakland County centers who worked closely with employers to prepare the best applications possible to secure these valuable training funds.” Oakland County Manager of Workforce Development Jennifer Llewellyn.
• “These funds represent more than just dollars; they symbolize Michigan’s commitment to empowering individuals, building thriving communities and positioning our state as a national leader in workforce development,” Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity Department Director Susan Corbin.
• “Training is so important to what we do as a business. With technology changing so fast in construction management, it’s critical to our success. But training is also key to our employees’ professional development. They build their own training paths based on their interests, whether it’s in construction management, estimating, building technology or another part of the business. It’s great to watch them grow professionally.” DeMaria Building Company Vice President Aaron Tassell, whose Novi company received a Going PRO grant to train 21 new employees.
  LEO awards are distributed from the Going PRO Talent Fund directly to employers, facilitated by Michigan Works! Agencies (MWAs) across the state. Employers take an active role in identifying short-term, essential training needs and collaborate closely with their local MWAs and other partners to develop their training plans that are part of the application process.

A list of all Oakland County employers receiving Going PRO Talent Fund grants is below:

Oakland County Michigan Works! operates centers in Novi, Oak Park, Pontiac, Southfield, Troy, and Waterford where they assist more than 105,000 job seekers annually. Services include career coaching, interviewing and job search workshops, placement assistance, training courses, and job trend information.
The centers also assist more than 3,000 employers seeking help with talent recruitment, apprenticeship programs, job fairs, candidate pre-screening, hiring, and training support, layoff support, and labor market data.

Staff are available in-person or by virtual appointment to work one-on-one with job seekers to build their resumes, prepare for job interviews and help address other needs. To schedule an appointment, call 248-858-5520. The centers are hosting several virtual workshops for job seekers. A schedule can be found at OaklandCountyMIWorks.com.

Pontiac, Mich. – With balanced budgets as far as the eye can see, and a sterling AAA fiscal reputation, Oakland County continues to put residents and small businesses at the top of its forward-thinking agenda.

“County government stood squarely on the side of county residents and businesses this year,” said County Executive Dave Coulter. “Together, we sought to secure the jobs of the future through EV innovations and educational attainment, expanded access to health care and mental health services, and we supported quality of life issues like transit, housing, and recreation.”

In 2023, supporting law enforcement and first responders remained a top priority. Oakland County implemented the use of body-worn cameras for sheriff deputies and piloted a program supporting law enforcement with mental health professionals when they encounter individuals who may have mental health challenges at a scene. The county is also ahead of schedule replacing its countywide radio system for first responders. The $58 million investment in the new P25 radio system has resulted in 6,300 radios being programmed and 20 dispatch centers being upgraded by December of 2023. All police and fire agencies are scheduled to be operating on the new system by mid-January, which will enable them to communicate with each other and other agencies on the State of Michigan radio system.

Mental health programs continue to have a broad impact in our communities. Through the end of 2023, Oakland County’s more than $40 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds dedicated to increasing the reach of mental health services for children and adults continued to serve thousands of residents. From the Jewish Family Service and Black Family Development Inc.’s suicide prevention training program for mental health providers to the Centro Multicultural La Familia Inc. initiative to combat racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care, 41 organizations reached more than 55,000 individuals across Oakland County over 18 months.

Children and teenagers also benefited from ARPA. Through the Out of School grant, Oakland County and United Way For Southeastern Michigan awarded $4.8 million to 30 youth programs that support social-emotional learning and academic tutoring in the summer months and give students additional enrichment to offset the pandemic’s negative effects.

Oakland County invested its remaining ARPA Funds in 2023 as some programs get underway in the new year. Oakland County’s emphasis has been on investing its $244 million in ARPA funds to make transformational improvements for residents, businesses, municipalities, and nonprofits. Under federal rules, local governments are required to obligate all ARPA funds by the end of 2024, and all funds must be spent by the end of 2026.

Medical debt burdens many Oakland County residents. Coulter and the Board of Commissioners are collaborating with RIP Medical Debt to erase medical debt for up to 80,000 residents. The county will leverage $2 million of its ARPA funds to purchase up to $200 million in medical debt for a fraction of its cost. In 2024, RIP Medical Debt will notify individuals that some or all their medical debt has been eliminated and cleared from their credit reports.
Homeowners can also apply for funding beginning in January of 2024 if they are making energy efficiency improvements to their homes. Coulter and the Board of Commissioners announced a partnership with Michigan Saves on Nov. 20, 2023 to administer a grant program called Oakland SAVES, which will be funded by $5 million ARPA dollars. The goal of Oakland SAVES is to make at least 1,000 households energy-efficient through home improvements.

As the county’s population ages, Oakland County is supporting improvements for their quality of life by using $5 million in ARPA funds to improve services and upgrade facilities at 29 senior centers. These centers are essential to the mental and physical well-being of older adults. Not only do they provide ways for older adults to connect through social events, but senior centers also offer essential services such as transportation to doctor visits.

Public transit is making strides in Oakland County a year after voters approved a public transportation millage in November of 2022. Multi-year agreements are in place with SMART, Western Oakland Transportation Authority (WOTA), North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA), OPC Social and Activity Center, and People’s Express, while route and service planning continues with input from communities, businesses, and residents. In 2024, SMART will extend fixed routes from Troy into Rochester and from Pontiac into Waterford and White Lake along M-59, among other improvements.
Oakland County and transportation service providers did not wait for the planning process to be complete before filling gaps in public transit. Some highlights from 2023 include:
● SMART has expanded fixed routes to Novi and Wixom.
● SMART has a fixed route stop at Woodward and Long Lake in Bloomfield Hills.
● Ridership is up more than 20 percent for WOTA, NOTA, OPC, and People’s Express just this year as they expanded their service areas and hours of operation and standardized fees to $2 per ride.
● The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan is facilitating a regional federal grant application for Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties and SMART to attract federal investment in transit, including for Woodward Bus Rapid Transit. This would not have been possible if Oakland County did not have county-wide public transportation.

In response to the strategic goals outlined by Coulter in his 2022 State of the County address, the Board of Commissioners created the Oakland Together Housing Trust Fund as a powerful tool to increase the availability of affordable and attainable housing throughout the county. The initiative provides gap funding to build new housing for working families. The fund will assist affordable housing developers in identifying sites in neighborhoods while offsetting land prices. Plus, it will serve as a catalyst for investment in targeted redevelopment which, when combined with private sector funds and infrastructure improvements, can help revitalize a community.

In 2023, the board appropriated an additional $13 million to the Housing Trust Fund that will increase access to rental and/or home ownership for families living below the federal poverty level. Coulter appointed the county’s first housing and neighborhood development officer, Khadija Walker-Fobbs, to lead the Neighborhood & Housing Development Division, and the first housing trust fund manager Kyle Hines earlier in 2023.

Beginning in 2023, Oakland County launched a hybrid model for indigent defense consisting of a public defender’s office, staffed by Oakland County employees, and the current roster of independent contractor attorneys, for Sixth Circuit Court and 52nd District Court indigent defense appointments. Coulter appointed Paulette Loftin as the county’s first public defender.

The Oakland County Board of Commissioners approved the county’s purchase of the Ottawa Towers, former General Motors Building, and four adjacent parcels in downtown Pontiac. Oakland County intends to move up to 600 public-facing employees from yet to be determined departments to create a significant county presence in downtown Pontiac. The last time the county had a substantial presence in the historic downtown of Pontiac was the early 1960s. The State of Michigan approved a $50 million investment for the project to help with building renovations, blight removal, redeveloping commercial and green spaces and streetscaping, reconnecting city streets, and developing safe parking options.

Oakland County dedicated a historical plaque honoring Elizabeth Denison Forth, the first woman of color to own property in Oakland County and the territory of Michigan, in front of the Sixth Circuit Court Building in Pontiac during its first celebration of Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the official end of slavery in the United States. During the ceremony Wednesday, participants also raised the Juneteenth flag at the courthouse.
Finally, additional ARPA investments include:
● Oakland Thrive which is helping to diversify the county’s economic landscape. The non-profit opened in 2023 to support Oakland County’s 36,000-plus small businesses with a focus on minority-, woman- and veteran-owned companies. Through its services, residents can get help building their own businesses from finding consumers to hiring employees. Oakland Thrive’s lead program, Business Forward, was previously a county government initiative, created from an $18 million ARPA grant.
● $15 million in additional appropriations for Coulter’s Oakland 80 initiative to have 80 percent of Oakland County adults attain a post-secondary degree or certification by 2030.
● $15 million assigned to Project Diamond Phase II to build on the successful distribution of 3-D printers to local manufacturers and build a network of Industry 4.0 companies.
● $15 million reserved for critical investments in the county parks system and enhance opportunities in underserved areas.