FOR CLOSING CRITICAL SKILLS GAPS, HELP CREATE JOBS
The U.S. Department of Labor is awarding $15.2 million in grants to enable 23 local areas to develop new systems to train American workers for high-skill jobs in places where companies are facing labor shortages, as part of the department's continuing, comprehensive efforts to close America's skills gap.
"We don't have a worker shortage in this country - we have a skills shortage," Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman said. "With these grants, 23 communities are going to identify what skills are needed and build systems to help workers acquire those skills."
Grants were awarded to organizations and regional partnerships of organizations that demonstrated in their proposals the capacity to develop a comprehensive skill training plan for the area. The intent is to create broadly inclusive partnerships focusing on a single industry or skilled occupation in an area. Specifically, these partnerships include businesses, business and trade associations, labor unions, community colleges and other post-secondary institutions, and community- and faith-based organizations.
The Regional Skills Partnership grants are funded, with Congressional authorization, through the department's National Reserve Account.
(A list of the grant awards follows)
| Alabama | Federation of Southern Cooperatives (West Alabama) | $750,000 |
| Alaska | Alaska State Hospital & Nursing Home Association | $638,000 |
| Arizona | Northern Arizona University (Colorado River Region in Arizona) | $750,000 |
| California | Labor Community Services Of Los Angeles | $750,000 |
| California | Farmworker Institute for Education & Leadership Development (Kern County, CA) | $750,000 |
| Colorado | State Board for Community College and Occupational Education | $515,322 |
| Florida | Florida AFL-CIO (Dade, Broward, Palm Beach Counties) | $535,940 |
| Hawaii | State Department of Labor and Industry | $500,000 |
| Iowa | Indian Hills Community College (Oskaloosa area, Ottumwa area) | $500,122 |
| Illinois | Chicago Federation of Labor & Industrial Union Council | $750,000 |
| Maryland | St. Mary's Board of County Commissioners | $500,000 |
| Massachusetts | Employment & Training Administration, Metro South/West REB | $613,967 |
| Minnesota | Hennepin County Department of Training & Employment Assistance | $750,000 |
| Mississippi | Department of Economic & Community Development | $640,000 |
| New York | City University of New York Research Foundation (Borough of Manhattan) | $750,000 |
| Oklahoma | City of Oklahoma City | $750,000 |
| Oregon | Rogue Community College (Southern Oregon) | $598,212 |
| Pennsylvania | Southern Alleghenies Planning & Development Commission | $533,000 |
| South Carolina | Enterprise Development, Inc. (Columbia, SC) | $500,000 |
| Vermont | State of Vermont | $616,900 |
| Vermont | River Valley Education Center (Springfield, VT) | $1,000,000 |
| Washington | SnoNet (Puget Sound Region) | $750,000 |
| Wisconsin | University of Wisconsin (Racine and Kenosha counties) | $750,000 |