What Happened?
The Department of Labor (DOL) this month awarded $450 million in workforce development grants to 270 community colleges nationwide. Awardees will work with more than 400 employers to create and expand local workforce development initiatives and other education programs.
The Details
Grant funding comes from DOL’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) competitive grant program. Community colleges and their community partners will use the funds to expand and improve their facilities and programs to better prepare students to enter the workforce. By working with employers in key sectors, the award recipients will teach students the skills needed for in-demand jobs in industries such as:
- Information technology
- Healthcare
- Energy
- Advanced manufacturing
Award Breakdown
Over the past three years, DOL has awarded nearly $1.5 billion to career training programs through TAACCCT. Winning partnerships have enabled workers to build skills to obtain good jobs with small, medium and large businesses alike. Many programs also focus on connecting workers with:
- Internships
- Apprenticeships
- Job-relevant skills education and training required for promotion
The goal is to train low-wage workers for middle class jobs in growing industries with projected shortages. The information technology sector alone is predicting an additional 1.4 million jobs will be created by 2020 with only 400,000 computer science graduates to fill them.
View the full press release
More information on the TAACCCT program
The White House job training report