News Release

Printer-Friendly Version

ETA News Release: [06/07/2005]
Contact Name: David James or Mike Volpe
Phone Number: 202-693-4676 or x3984
Release Number: 05-1002-ATL

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Awards $750,000 to South Carolina’s Claflin University for Biotechnology Project

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

ORANGEBURG, S. C. — U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced a grant of $750,000 to Claflin University in South Carolina. The grantee is one of 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 opportunities to build a world-class health care and biotechnology workforce.

“Health care and biotechnology are two of the fastest growing fields,” Secretary of Labor Chao said. “This $750,000 grant to Claflin University, like the other 11 projects funded through this competition, will help workers prepare for good careers in professions that are in high demand.”

Employment in the rural lower Savannah region's biotech industry is projected to increase 20 percent by 2010, but no entry-level programs exist for biotechnology workers in the area. Claflin University will use its grant to create a formal, industry-supported education infrastructure beginning in the primary grades and continuing through formal certificate and two-year degree programs, thereby enabling workers to qualify for 65 percent of the available jobs in the local biotech industry. As a result of this project, 100 students per year will be trained in biotech certificate or degree tracks. And 100 percent of area high schools will incorporate biotech modules into their health science curriculum.

“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 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, California, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, New York, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.

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