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The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $111 million in America’s Promise grants to 23 regional workforce partnerships to support tuition-free education and training for high-demand industries. The new four-year grants build on President Obama’s 2015 proposal to provide up to two years of free community college for qualifying students, and will support a range of sector-driven strategies, including work-based learning, classroom instruction, and competency-based education. The grants are expected to provide more than 21,000 US workers with the skills and credentials they need to enter into, or advance within, target occupations. Grantees are expected to leverage more than $57 million in other federal and non-federal dollars to support the implementation of these programs.
Grant recipients announced today include:
The University of Alabama at Birmingham |
Birmingham |
Ala. |
MiraCosta Community College District |
Oceanside |
Calif. |
Delaware Technical Community College |
Dover |
Del. |
Florida State College at Jacksonville |
Jacksonville |
Fla. |
Brevard Workforce Development Board, Inc. |
Rockledge |
Fla. |
Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center |
Peoria |
Ill. |
Tecumseh Area Partnership, Inc. |
Lafayette |
Ind. |
United Way of Central Iowa |
Des Moines |
Iowa |
Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas, Inc. |
Wichita |
Kan. |
Montgomery College |
Rockville |
Md. |
Grand Rapids Community College |
Grand Rapids |
Mich. |
Southeast Michigan Community Alliance |
Taylor |
Mich. |
City of Springfield |
Springfield |
Mo. |
RFCUNY on behalf of CUNY OAA – CEWP |
New York |
N.Y. |
Monroe Community College |
Rochester |
N.Y. |
Worksystems, Inc. |
Portland |
Ore. |
Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training |
Cranston |
R.I. |
Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce |
Memphis |
Tenn. |
Alamo Community College District |
San Antonio |
Texas |
New River Mount Rogers Workforce Investment Area Consortium |
Radford |
Va. |
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission |
Moorefield |
W.Va. |
Employ Milwaukee |
Milwaukee |
Wisc. |
Northern Wyoming Community College District |
Sheridan |
Wyo. |
National Skills Coalition applauds the Obama administration’s continued efforts to expand access to quality education and training as part of their Job-Driven Training plan, including $2 billion in Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grants that were released between 2011-2014, and more than $250 million in DOL grants to expand apprenticeship over the past two years. These investments have helped tens of thousands of workers take advantage of new work opportunities while helping businesses across a range of industries develop talent pipelines that will support their growth and competitiveness. As we look forward to the 115th Congress and the beginning of the Trump administration in 2017, we hope that policymakers will expand on these important efforts, and ensure that every workers and every industry has the skills to compete and prosper.
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