U.S. Department of Labor announces $500 million for 5 grant solicitations to train workers for green jobs

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – During a visit to Memphis today, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced five grant competitions, totaling $500 million, to fund projects that prepare workers for green jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.

"Emerging green jobs are creating opportunities for workers to enter careers that offer good wages and pathways to long term job growth and prosperity," said Secretary Solis. "Workers receiving training through projects funded by these competitions will be at the forefront as our nation transforms the way we generate electricity, manufacture products and do business across a wide range of industries."

Four of the competitions announced today are designed to serve workers in need of training through various national, state and community outlets: Energy Training Partnership Grants; Pathways Out of Poverty Grants; State Energy Sector Partnership and Training Grants; and Green Capacity Building Grants. The fifth competition, for State Labor Market Information Improvement Grants, will fund state workforce agencies that will collect, analyze and disseminate labor market information and develop labor exchange infrastructure to direct individuals to careers in green industries. Detailed information on grant opportunities can be found in each grant solicitation.

Grants awarded through this competition will be funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). In an effort to earn the maximum return on each investment, the Labor Department is encouraging grantees funded through these competitions to align their work with other federal agencies' Recovery Act investments intended to create jobs and promote economic growth. Programs funded through these grants will be conducted in partnership with the public workforce system in order to prepare workers to enter careers in targeted industries.

A notice of these grant solicitations is in today's edition of the Federal Register and is also available at http://www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm and http://www.grants.gov. Dates and times for applicant virtual conferences are found in each SGA. For more information on the array of Department of Labor employment and training investments and opportunities, visit http://www.doleta.gov.

To learn more about the Recovery Act and efforts across the country to move the economy forward, visit http://www.Recovery.gov.