U.S. Department of Labor Announces $145 Million to Invest In Workforce Training for Key U.S. Economic Sectors

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today the award of $145 million in the H-1B One Workforce Grant Program to invest in training for key sectors of the U.S. economy. Grant recipients, listed below, will focus on upskilling the current workforce and training the workforce of the future for critical industries such as IT, advanced manufacturing and transportation.

Grantees will use innovative training strategies and training delivery methods to provide individuals in their communities with the skills necessary to succeed in middle- and high-skilled H-1B occupations. Training models will include a broad range of classroom and on-the-job training, customized training, incumbent worker training, Registered Apprenticeship Programs and Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is challenging communities to think as ‘One Workforce’,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training John Pallasch. “In a post-coronavirus world, it is critical that local organizations think as one instead of independent parts of a process. Our goal is to create seamless community partnerships to build career pathways for local job seekers to enter middle- to high-skilled occupations in cyber security, advanced manufacturing and transportation.”

Public-private partnerships will leverage resources across federal, state and local funding streams, as well as from the private sector to support training, employment services and supportive services to increase access to employment opportunities. Grantees will work together toward a coordinated approach to preparing a skilled workforce within an economic region. Grantees must also demonstrate that they are leveraging at least 25 percent of the total amount of the grant funds requested.

Grant recipients include institutions of higher education, entities involved in administering the workforce investment system established under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, non-profit organizations and economic development organizations. Eligible participants served through this grant program must be at least 17 years old, and not enrolled currently in secondary school within a local educational agency. Among the individuals eligible to receive training, veterans, military spouses, and transitioning service members receive Priority of Service.

Section 414(c) of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998, as amended (codified at 29 U.S.C. 3224a) funds the H-1B One Workforce Grant Program.

The recipients of these grants are as follows:

ETA administers federal job training and dislocated worker programs, federal grants to states for public employment service programs and unemployment insurance benefits. These services are provided primarily through state and local workforce development systems.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.