Wia For Furloughed Pilots

[C-5 MEM]

I have been told that money for WIA is no longer available. I recieved my letter Monday saying that I got the boot. Anyone have any good info about the WIA?
PM me with the info please.

TV

 

[Trojan]

It's different state by state, month by month. Some states never had it, some ran out in 2002 and never restocked the fund, some still have it today. Remember you qualify in both the state you live in and the state you work in (for commuters). In some cases, you qualify for states that you ever paid taxes in, so check around. It will be a very long and frustrating process however.

 

[falcon20driver]

Being a Vet might help you, the Michigan WIA counselors were more willing to help me after I told them that my GI Bill would pay for 60% of the tuition, it was still pretty tough to get money for pilot training from them though.
I didn't have an ATP certificate so I got on the web and printed out a bunch of current job postings that required an ATP ticket and brought them with me to the WIA office, that added some fuel to the fire.

 

[chase]

C141FE,

Call Sandy at 1-800-JETCREW, they're the Higher Power Folks who do 737 training..she has info on all of that & will give you the ins & outs of what to do if you live in an area that has the WIA. Now is the time to do it since it is the beginning of the fiscal year. Good luck, tell her Chase sent you....good luck,

 

[C-5 MEM]

I will give her a call

Thanks Chase

 

[Launchpad]

Has anybody gotten any WIA funds in the state of WA?


Thanks

 

[b757driver]

Things have changed in the WIA world since I got $14,000 from them almost 2 years ago to get a type rating.

It is a fedral program administered by individual states and the money allocated does vary. Usually, it's first come, first served until funds dry up for the fiscal year. Also, there is NO guarantee that the same state will continue the following year.

You may also want to note the following BIG change:

I got mine relatively easy after being laid off in Nov 2002. Was assigned a counselor and had to "sell" my case on why I should receive the funds. Since, at that tiem there was plenty of money in the pot (NV) and I was quick off the mark, I got the funding. It goes directly to the training organization. Having done that, I went to school, aced the course, got the rating, applied to various companies - then nadda! Not even a single interview in more than 9 months.

Then, about 12 months later and still on unemployment, I was solicited by another agency eager to "help out". I leveled with them that I had already received funding but no job. They then told me that the system had changed quite drastically. Basically, when the money ran out, the DoL did a survey on how many pilots who took advantage of the scheme actually were successful in getting a job. It must have been a VERY low figure because they curtailed the program whereby you now needed a letter from a potential employer to say they would hire you if you got that certain rating. In other words, the door was shut. If no one even looked at you when you were current with an additional rating, why would they write lots of letters saying maybe?

Of course, things might have changed by now, for the better perhaps. Best bet is to continue asking questions and do your research. One thing is for sure. It ain't as easy as it used to be. That's aviation for you I guess...... Good luck anyway.

 

[Huggyu2]

Are there any other programs other than WIA that y'all know about? How about any money for furloughed pilots that can be used for CFI/CFII/MEI (yes, I'm military background)?

 

[b757driver]

If you are or were military then you should check out the GI benefits. That's been going since......? Take advantage of it if you can because there is no other country in the world that continues to look after their vets long after they separate in this way.

 

[Huggyu2]

The long-and-short of it is that I don't have an GI benefits, due to unfortunate timing and bad advice. Any other ideas? Anyone...? Buehler...?