Pathways Out of Poverty grants announced.
Department of Labor releases nearly $150 million in Pathways Out of Poverty grants
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA) has just announced the release of nearly $150 million in grants under the Pathways Out of Poverty program, the fourth of five competitive “green jobs” grants authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5). The forty grantees include a mix of national and local nonprofit organizations, who will work in partnership with the public workforce system, unions, education and training providers, and employers to provide job training and related services to unemployed individuals, high school dropouts, individuals with a criminal record, and disadvantaged individuals living in areas of high poverty. A full description of the grant program and grantee projects can be read here.
DOLETA has already announced awards under three other green job grant programs authorized by the Recovery Act, most recently awarding approximately $100 million in Energy Training Partnership grants to support training initiatives run by national labor-management partnerships and state and local nonprofit partnerships. In November, the agency announced the release of $49 million under the State Labor Market Information Improvement program to improve state data systems, and almost $6 million for current DOL grantees to update and expand green training opportunities under the Green Capacity Building grant program. Read National Skills Coalition’s summary of all five Recovery Act green job training grants here.
Awards for the fifth and final Recovery Act green jobs training grant – the $190 million State Sector Training grant program – are expected to be announced shortly. DOLETA is also planning to award $220 million in Recovery Act funds later this year 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 for Main Street Act of 2010 (H.R. 2847), the jobs bill recently passed by the House of Representatives, 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.
