National College in Youngstown offers help to ex-Indalex workers

The money can be used for retraining programs at National College campuses.

YOUNGSTOWN — National College’s Youngstown Campus is making $180,000 available from its Career Development Grant Program to assist workers laid off by the closing of the Indalex plant in Girard.

Money from the college’s grant may be used to supplement federal, state and local retraining program funds for students who attend National College.

Indalex Aluminum Solutions is slated to close by the end of March, eliminating 150 jobs.

“Our mission, for more than 120 years, has been to provide citizens with the education and training they need to find employment in new career fields,” said National College President Frank Longaker. “We have a record of unparalleled success in helping to train workers for new career fields, and our Career Development Grant program is a key ingredient of that success.”

Through the end of 2007, the college has provided more than $3 million in grants to more than 1,000 students under the Career Development Grant and similar programs offered at the college’s campuses in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and Virginia. The school has 24 campuses.

The exact size of the grant awarded — which historically has averaged approximately $3,000 per student — is based on each eligible student’s individual circumstances and need.

National College’s Youngstown Campus offers a variety of programs in business, computers and health care, some of which can be completed in nine months. Class schedules enable students to attend full time either night or day, and lifetime career placement assistance is available to all National College graduates.

The school opened its Youngstown campus on Belmont Avenue last fall.