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ETA News Release: [06/07/2005]
Contact Name: David James or Mike Volpe
Phone Number: 202-693-4676 or x3984
Release Number: 05-1010-SAN

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Awards Nearly $2.2 Million For Los Angeles, Orange County Biotech and Health Care Job Training

Grants Totaling $12 Million Will Fund 12 Health Care and Biotechnology Training Projects Nationwide

SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced grants of $1,196,000 to the Los Angeles Community Development Department and $1 million to the Orange County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) to train youth and adult workers for careers in health care and biotechnology. The grantees were among 12 winners selected from nearly 230 applicants competing for funding under the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative. More than $12 million is being awarded nationwide to address challenges in building a world-class health care and biotechnology workforce.

“Health care and biotechnology are two of the fastest growing fields,” Secretary of Labor Chao said. “These grants totaling nearly $2.2 million to the Los Angeles Community Development Department and Orange County WIB, like the other 10 projects funded through this competition, will help workers prepare for good careers in professions that are in high demand.”

The Los Angeles Community Development Department will develop strategic intervention programs to recruit and train young adults for health care industry careers. Efforts will include an out-of-school to career program, a health care mentoring program and a Web-based online learning community portal. A health care vocational assessment tool will also be used to determine participant aptitude for specific health care occupations. Projected outcomes include attracting approximately 4,600 young people to the heath care industry annually.

With its partner organizations, the Orange County WIB will target untapped labor pools, establish standardized curricula and define biotech career ladders. The grant will also help develop career lattices for trainees to transition to biotech and related occupations within the health care industry. The project will train 75 incumbent employees from partner businesses, 75 dislocated workers from the county's declining industries and 75 entry-level workers. The WIB projects 80 to 90 percent of incumbent workers will receive salary increases. Key partners in this project include the Orange County Business Council, Coast Community College District, University of California at Irvine, Orange County Department of Education, Life Science Industry Council, Central Labor Council – Local 441, Beckman Coulter Inc., Allergan Inc. and Saint Joseph Health System.

“Regional partnerships among employers, educators, and the workforce investment system will be the key to meeting businesses' demand for workers with the skills to succeed in the competitive, global economy,” Emily Stover DeRocco, assistant secretary of labor for employment and training, said.

Of the 12 grants awarded as a result of a Sept. 17, 2004 Department of Labor Solicitation for Grant Applications, four grants will fund biotechnology industry training, six will fund health care industry training and two will provide cross-industry training. Funds will advance projects in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, New York, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin, as well as these two projects in California.

Through the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative, the Department of Labor has been conducting executive forums with leaders of expanding industries to identify critical workforce gaps and issues. Solutions are competitively chosen and are carried out in cooperation with employers, educational institutions and the public workforce system. For more information, visit www.doleta.gov/BRG/JobTrainInitiative/.

NOTE: Complete list of grantees