Founded 25 years ago to bring vocational training to people, including veterans, in the San Francisco Bay area, Inter-City Services has been ramping up its veteran training programs over the past couple of years. Speaking to a reporter from the Oakland Tribune, Executive Director Mansour Id-Deen revealed that the agency received, last December, $650,000 to train 144 people over the next two years. It has previously been given $500,000 to train 125 veterans.
At its location on 3269 Adeline St., Inter-City Services offers career counseling, office and computer training, computer repair, and GED preparation. If the applicant requires a different area of vocational training, he or she will be referred to another training institution with all fees paid.
All honorably discharged veterans, including those with disabilities, can find a home at Inter-City Services.
Inter-City Services has been receiving state funding for veteran training most years since 1998.
The most recent grant specified that 50 percent of the recipients should be recently separated veterans, that is, those coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq — soldiers like Stercks and Cooper.
“I don’t think we’ll have any trouble at all filling the 144 spots,” Id-Deen said.
On the other hand, Id-Deen observed that, just like Stercks and Cooper, it sometimes takes a while before veterans find the agency. Inter-City Services says its goal is to provide a seamless service from military to civilian employment.
Not what I expected, but I felt I had to let you know I liked it. Thank you.