News Release
ETA News Release: [05/19/2004]
Contact Name: Lorette
Post
Phone Number: (202) 693-3984
Additional Funding is Part of Presidents National Hispanic Worker Initiative
WASHINGTONU.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 Departments National Hispanic Worker Initiative, announced earlier this year.
The National Hispanic Worker Initiative will help our countrys 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 todays workforce.
The grant marks the second year of funding for the Digital Learning Group (DLG). Known as Words for Work, DLGs 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 Governors Workforce Investment Board of Maryland, a consortium of faith-based organizations and the Maryland Hospital Association. The Department of Labors 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 Departments Employment and Training Administration is funding unique, industry-driven demonstration projects through the Presidents 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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