WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) today announced a competition for $47 million in funding for YouthBuild grants to provide education, training and leadership development to at-risk youth while preparing them for skilled positions in construction and other industries.

“YouthBuild builds the skills and education of at-risk young people while empowering them to become valuable assets in their communities,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco. “Through unique, hands-on learning, YouthBuild participants are prepared to meet the growing employment demands of the construction and other high growth industries.”

This Solicitation for Grant Applications appears in today’s Federal Register and can be found online at www.doleta.gov/sga/sga.cfm or at www.grants.gov. The competition is open to organizations including workforce investment boards, faith-based and community groups, state and local housing development agencies, and Indian tribes. ETA will serve young people in approximately 100 communities during the first year of the project. YouthBuild participants will earn while they learn through building affordable housing in distressed communities nationwide.

In September 2006, President Bush signed the YouthBuild Transfer Act into law, transferring the program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to ETA beginning in fiscal year 2007. The act maintains YouthBuild’s prior purpose and key elements while placing greater emphasis on post-secondary transitions to education, training and employment. It also provides stronger links to the One-Stop Career Center system and community colleges. A greater emphasis will be placed on participants in “registered apprenticeship programs,” which lead to industry-accepted professional certifications. These changes and others will increase the probability that participants will find employment upon completion of the program.

YouthBuild is an alternative education program that provides at-risk youth with training in construction and pathways to post-secondary education and careers in high growth, high demand occupations. Those served include young people who have been in the juvenile justice system, youth aging out of foster care, high school dropouts, and other at-risk populations. For more information on YouthBuild grants and other youth employment programs, please visit www.doleta.gov/youth_services.