ETA News Release: [May 19, 2004]
Contact Name: Lorette Post
Phone Number: 202-693-3984
U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces $1.5 Million Grant For English Proficiency and Job Training for Hispanic Workers
Additional Funding Is Part of President's National Hispanic Worker Initiative
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced a grant of $1.5 million to aid unemployed Hispanic youth and adults in the Baltimore area. The grant is the third in the Labor Department's National Hispanic Worker Initiative, announced earlier this year.
"The National Hispanic Worker Initiative will help our country's Hispanic workers prepare for and find good-paying jobs in high growth sectors," said Labor Secretary Chao. "Every worker should have the tools to find a good job with a career pathway. This $1.5 million grant will provide Hispanic youth and adults access to the training and resources needed to compete equitably in today's workforce."
The grant marks the second year of funding for the Digital Learning Group (DLG). Known as Words for Work, DLG's program will use multimedia instruction to provide occupation-specific English language and related workplace skills training for health care and construction industry employment. Approximately 225 unemployed Hispanic adults and Hispanic youth over 16 years old in the Baltimore metropolitan area will benefit from the training.
"Hispanic workers face unique employment challenges, not the least of which is a language barrier," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco. "This grant will put the collaborative weight of business, the community college sector and the public workforce system behind an effort to equip Hispanic workers with language and occupational skills to qualify for good jobs in expanding industries."
DLG is partnering with Anne Arundel Community College, the Governor's Workforce Investment Board of Maryland, a consortium of faith-based organizations and the Maryland Hospital Association. The Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration provided $1.3 million to the program in June 2003. The project funded by the grant will serve as a model for addressing similar employment barriers faced by Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders and other minority groups around the country.
The Hispanic Worker Initiative is part of a larger effort to link the resources of the $15 billion public workforce system to jobs in demand. Currently, the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration is funding unique, industry-driven demonstration projects through the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative. These include Hispanic workers in their overall service strategy. The department will continue to explore more innovative projects throughout the year that address the identified workforce challenges of Hispanic Americans.
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