SKILLS BLOG

Grants supporting manufacturing announced.

October 15, 2012

On October 9, the Obama Administration announced $20 million in awards under the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge, a multiagency effort to support regional industry cluster initiatives that strengthen advanced manufacturing at the local level. The grants were awarded to 10 public-private partnerships made up of small and large business, colleges, nonprofits, and local stakeholders.  

Grants were awarded to clusters in Arizona, California, Michigan, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington.  It is estimated that the grantees will train as many as 1,000 workers, and will help nearly 650 companies leverage regional resources to create jobs nationwide. 

The Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge is a partnership between the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration and National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Energy, the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, the Small Business Administration, and the National Science Foundation.   Eight other federal agencies will provide technical assistance to grantees.  

This is the third round of the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge, an initiative designed by the interagency Taskforce for the Advancement of Regional Innovation Clusters (TARIC).