In Broome County, the unemployment rate is more than eight percent, but the local government is looking to help. YNN's Chris Whalen tells us about a free program to help people get back to work.

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BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Naya Davis spent her Wednesday morning at the Broome County Library, but she's not looking for books, she's looking for work.

"What brought me down here today, is I'm looking for a job and I'm trying to increase my skills to get a better job," Davis said.

Davis is part of the 8.2 percent who are unemployed in Broome County. According to County officials, there are more than six thousand jobs available in the area, but they're going unfilled because many applicants don't have the proper training.

But a new partnership between Broome County and a program called 'Metrix Learning' is aiming to help fill those positions.

"Metrix Learning is a technology platform and it allows people who are unemployed around the country to assess their skills and if they have any skill deficiencies, they can take courses online to either become better trained or to receive a certification," said Brian Lee, CEO of Metrix Learning.

Lee estimates that job training can often cost hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, but the first one thousand users registered with the Broome-Tioga Workforce will be trained for free.

"It's a means of acquiring training and the skills that you can do from your home or the library or where ever you have access to the internet," said Terry Stark of the Broome-Tioga Workforce.

In addition to the training, 90 people will also earn free certification upon completing the training through the program. Tools that could end up separating a job seeker from the rest of the pack.

"Some places there are four or five people competing for every job opening, so the more skills you have, and experience, the better the likelihood of achieving a job," Lee said.

Interested applicants can register for the program by visiting or calling the Broome-Tioga Workforce at (607) 778-2136.