Energy Training Partnership grants announced.
Department of Labor releases $100 million in Energy Training Partnership grants
On January 6, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA) announced 25 grants totaling $100 million under the Energy Training Partnership grant program, which was one of five “green jobs” grant programs authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Energy Training Partnership grants, which were made available to national labor-management partnerships and state and local nonprofit partnerships, will support job training and related activities for a broad range of workers seeking careers in energy efficiency and clean energy industries. A full description of the Energy Training Partnership grant program, and detailed summaries of grantee projects, can be read here.
In November, DOLETA released $55 million under the first two Recovery Act green jobs grants, including almost $6 million to expand the green job training capacity of current DOL grantees, and $49 million to support the development of state labor marker information systems. Awards under the two remaining green job grant programs will be announced in the next few weeks: the $190 million State Sector Training grant program will fund partnerships led by state Workforce Investment Boards (SWIBs) to support training activities aligned with statewide green sector strategies, while the $150 million Pathways out of Poverty grant program will support green training and employment activities conducted by national and local partnerships led by community- and faith-based organizations. Read National Skills Coalition’s summary of all five Recovery Act green job training grants here.
In addition to the $500 million in grants for green job training, DOLETA is also planning to award $220 million in Recovery Act funds later this spring to support training in health care and other high-growth or emerging industries. Read National Skills Coalition’s summary of these grants in our July Washington Update.
The “jobs bill” recently passed by the House of Representatives (HR 2847) includes an additional $750 million for competitive grants for training and placement of workers in high-growth and emerging sectors. Of that total, $275 million must be for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy as described in the Green Jobs Act, of which $225 million must be for Pathways out of Poverty grants. Priority for the remaining $475 million must be given to projects in the health care sector. The Senate is expected to consider job creation legislation after completing work on the health care reform bill in late January or early February, although it is still unclear what form that legislation will take. National Skills Coalition will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates to the workforce development field as information becomes available.
