Margaret Carmel – BoiseDev senior reporter
Parker Carey got a leg up into his first job with the help of the State of Idaho.
Instead of flipping burgers or busing tables, Carey, 16, is learning the ins-and-outs of the meat cutting trade behind the counter at Idaho Meat and Seafood in Meridian. He earned his high school equivalency degree, learned the basics of food service at Life’s Kitchen last year and then with the help of the Department of Labor he landed at the butcher’s shop to build work experience.
“It feels good,” he said, before clocking in for a shift. “I feel accomplished in my life, like I can actually do things with myself. It’s nice to be able to afford things I couldn’t afford, so I like that part of it too.”
Carey is taking advantage of one of a raft of workforce training programs offered through the Idaho Department of Labor. His program, called WIOA for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, helps connect out of work or underemployed Idahoans with job training in high demand fields. Through the program, the federally-funded program covers nearly the entire cost of wages for an employee like Carey in exchange for a company training them.
Read the full story on the BoiseDev website.