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ETA News Release: [12/07/2004]
Contact Name: Lorette Post
Phone Number: (202) 693-4676 or x3984

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Announces Nearly $940,000 for Apprenticeship Training for Metalworkers

Grant is Part of $24.2 Million Advanced Manufacturing Training Initiative

WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced a grant of $939,815 to the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) to continue development of an apprenticeship program to meet changing industry needs. The grant is part of a $24.2 million advanced manufacturing training effort under the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative, a strategic plan to prepare workers for jobs in America 's fastest growing industries. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco was on hand to present the award to NIMS.

“Modern metalworking increasingly requires skills and training in advanced technologies,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “This grant supports the development of new training options to meet industry demands for workers whose skills are continually updated to compete in a global economy.”

With the grant, NIMS will take its competency-based metalworking apprenticeship system in a new direction, focusing on more flexible training delivered right on the shop floor, and allowing for self-paced theory instruction, nationally recognized skill certifications and a model for meeting the changing training needs of employers and incumbent workers. NIMS plans to run the pilot at 25 of its consortium companies before expanding the new apprenticeship training option nationwide where it will reach 6,000 stakeholder associations employing two million metalworkers.

“Sustainable and replicable training models are necessary to address the changing needs of this highly innovative sector,” said DeRocco. “This project will help create an industry standard that will fill the pipeline with highly skilled workers prepared to meet the current and future challenges of today's metalworking industry.”

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. Solutions, like those found in today's grant, are then created in cooperation with employers, educational institutions and the public workforce system. For more information, please visit www.doleta.gov/BRG/JobTrainInitiative/.

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