Those looking to receive training for jobs in Orlando Florida may be out of luck until the middle of the year.

Workforce Central Florida recently announced that it has run out of money for training scholarships, which were partly funded by $4 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. WCF serves as the area’s publicly funded job-service agency.

The scholarships are given to unemployed workers so they can be trained for jobs that are in high-demand, such as healthcare and technology positions. Scholarship recipients can use the money at local colleges or schools specializing in adult education.

Since April 2009, WCF has awarded about 2,000 training scholarships, valued at about $8 million. According to an article by the Orlando Sentinel, the program is so popular that the agency does not expect to have more scholarships until July.

However, a limited number of scholarships could become available if earlier recipients find a job, fail to complete their training or choose not to accept the money offered to them. There also is a chance that the federal government will provide more funding, but even that wouldn’t happen until mid-year.

The Orlando area has plenty of unemployed workers that would benefit from the additional training. Latest statistics show that the city has continued to lose jobs on a monthly and yearly basis as its unemployment rate increases.

During November 2009, the Orlando-Kissimmee area’s unemployment rate increased from 11.5 percent to 11.8 percent, following a decrease from 11.6 percent during October. The increase places the city above the national unemployment rate of 10 percent.

The area had a total non-farm employment of 1,018,500 workers during November, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 1,019,100 workers during October and a 4.1 percent decrease from the previous year.