SPRINGFIELD - A grant program that will provide job training to people in tornado-damaged neighborhoods, including skills for casino jobs, has drawn sharp criticism from city councilors for omitting low-income areas outside the tornado zone.

Councilors including Bud L. Williams, Zaida Luna and Orlando Ramos said the training program should not have omitted low income areas such as the North End, Pine Point, Indian Orchard, and the Mason Square area.

Williams said he was "appalled" by the omission.

"Casino jobs are for the whole city not just to the disaster area and not just for segments of the city," Williams said.

MGM Springfield plans to build an $800 million casino complex in the city's South End, which was seriously damaged by a 2011 tornado.

Springfield Technical Community College was awarded a $98,949 federal disaster recovery grant through the city to provide customer service training to residents. The training, which is free to eligible participants, is earmarked for potential jobs in casino-related positions, and employment for receptionists, hotel clerks, sales associates, store cashiers, call center operators and restaurant staff, according to a flier.

Tina Quagliato, the city's director of disaster recovery and compliance, said the jobs training program is funded under the federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program, and thus can only be used in disaster areas.

"Every dollar in disaster recovery money, there has to be a direct tie back to the disaster," Quagliato said.

Ramos said that may be true, but there should be other grant avenues to expand the program to other poor neighborhoods.

"Folks are in my ward that need jobs that need training," Ramos said, whose ward includes Indian Orchard and part of Pine Point. "If we are going to provide this kind of training, we need to find a way to include everyone."

The council has scheduled a meeting on Thursday at noon, at City Hall to discuss the job training issue.

Luna, who represents Ward 1, that includes the North End and downtown area, said such important training should be available to everyone. The tornado area has received a lot of money, and other areas are being unfairly left out, she said.

She also suggested there should be other sources of funds, such as from MGM Springfield, to provide training. In addition, she said the training, if expanded, would help more Springfield residents get the casino jobs.

Further, Luna said she and other councilors were not given advance information about the training opportunity until the flier surfaced in recent days.

The STCC training program is for 15 weeks, starting April 27, with classes conducted at the UMassCenter on Main Street in downtown Springfield.

The flier states that a person to be eligible must be a resident of the South End, Six Corners, Old Hill, East Forest Park and Sixteen Acres, listing the zip codes of eligibility within the tornado recovery zone. A tornado on June 1, 2011, tore through the city of Springfield causing millions of dollars in damage within those areas.

There are three information sessions offered for the STCC customer training program scheduled April 3, 10, and 17, each at 2 p.m., at the FutureWorks Career Center, One Federal St.

Quagliato said the training was not specifically set up for casino jobs. However, it does provide a general customer service training program that is being done with the knowledge that it will prepare people for a host of customer service jobs "and MGM is one of the many employers that will be seeking employees trained in these specific skills," she said.

Participants in the training must be at least 18 years old, and not have a college degree. They will gain skills in workplace math, marketing and sales, customer service, professionalism, resume writing and job interview skills, according to the flier.