US Labor Department awards more than $159 million for technical skills training to help American workers fill jobs in high-growth fields

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Oct 04, 2011, 02:17 ET

Grants target industries in 20 states and DC that rely on H-1B visa program for skilled workers

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $159,266,650 in grants to 36 public-private partnerships serving 20 states and the District of Columbia through the first round of funding under the H-1B Technical Skills Training Grant Competition. The grants will provide education, training and job placement assistance related to high-growth fields in which employers are currently using the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program to hire foreign workers, such as advanced manufacturing, energy, health care and information technology.

"These grants are an important part of the administration's efforts to help ensure that our workers have the chance to succeed in new and emerging fields, and that growing businesses have access to the skilled American workforce they need," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

Secretary Solis announced the grant awards during a press conference at The Catholic University of America in Washington, which received nearly $4.2 million to support training in health care information technology.

More than $85 million of the total announced today will be used to provide training to individuals who have been unemployed for longer than six months. In addition, more than $70 million will be used to provide on-the-job training, which allows participants to learn new skills while earning a regular paycheck. All of the grantees are required – as demonstrated on their applications – to partner with at least one area employer that will provide assistance in one of the following areas: defining program goals and activities, identifying necessary skills and competencies, providing resources to support education and training, or helping design the program.

These grants are funded through fees paid by employers to bring foreign workers into the United States under the H-1B program. The grants are intended to raise the technical skill levels of American workers and, over time, help businesses reduce their need to use the H-1B program.

The original solicitation for grant applications announced funding of $240 million to be awarded through two rounds of funding. Because additional H-1B visa fees have been collected, about $100 million more than anticipated for on-the-job training will be available for the second round. Interested parties are encouraged to visit http://www.grants.gov to check eligibility requirements and apply. The competition will close on Nov. 17.

Editor's note: A complete list of grantees, including their locations, award amounts and targeted industries, follows this news release.


Grantee	State	Amount	Targeted Industries and Occupations
Pima County	Arizona	$1,318,326	Aerospace/defense and other high-tech industries
Able-Disabled Advocacy Inc.*	California	$3,047,634	Computer software and medical services (health care)
California Manufacturers & Technology Association	California	$5,000,000	Advanced manufacturing and information technology
City of Santa Ana^	California	$4,997,479	Engineering
Managed Career Solutions Inc.*^	California	$5,000,000	Health care and social assistance
Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network*	California	$2,816,309	Health care
Colorado Department of Labor and Employment*	Colorado	$5,000,000	Information technology; science, technology, engineering and math; advanced manufacturing
Capital Workforce Partners*^	Connecticut	$4,986,817	Health care and health information technology
The WorkPlace Inc.	Connecticut	$4,936,845	Health care
The Catholic University of America	District of Columbia	$4,175,500	Health care information technology
Alachua Bradford Regional Workforce Board*^	Florida	$4,947,404	Health care, biomanufacturing
Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership*^	Florida	$4,941,552	Manufacturing
WorkNet Pinellas Inc.*	Florida	$4,808,828	Allied health and nursing
Atlanta Technical College^	Georgia	$4,840,025	Bioscience and biotechnology
Urban League of Greater Atlanta*^	Georgia	$4,821,715	Information technology
Johnson County Community College	Kansas	$2,897,418	Health information technology
Kansas Department of Commerce^	Kansas	$4,998,066	Engineering
The Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas Inc.*	Kansas	$5,000,000	Aerospace products and parts manufacturing
Gateway Community and Technical College	Kentucky	$4,968,708	Information technology, instructional design technology
Coastal Counties Workforce Inc*^	Maine	$4,999,858	Advanced manufacturing and information technology
Capital Area MichiganWorks!*	Michigan	$4,437,841	Information technology
American Indian Opportunities Industrialization Center*	Minnesota	$5,000,000	Health care and information technology
Manchester Community College*	New Hampshire	$4,999,426	Health care and health information technology
New York State Department of Labor	New York	$5,000,000	Advanced manufacturing and health care
Cuyahoga Community College District*	Ohio	$4,084,007	Information technology and health care
Ohio Department of Job & Family Services^	Ohio	$5,000,000	Information technology
Oklahoma Department of Commerce^	Oklahoma	$5,000,000	Construction/architecture
Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corporation*	Pennsylvania	$3,045,533	Advanced manufacturing, health care and natural gas
Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Investment Board^	Pennsylvania	$3,302,460	Advanced manufacturing
Memphis Bioworks Foundation*	Tennessee	$3,743,098	Health care and social assistance
Project QUEST Inc.*	Texas	$5,000,000	Health care
Tarrant County Local Workforce Development Board^	Texas	$5,000,000	Information technology, engineering aerospace and defense industry
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston*	Texas	$4,947,159	Health care: clinical laboratory science, health services
Greater Peninsula Workforce Development Consortium	Virginia	$5,000,000	Health care
National Institute for Metalworking Skills Inc.^	Virginia	$2,232,492	Advanced manufacturing
W-O-W Workforce Development Inc.^	Wisconsin	$4,972,150	Advanced manufacturing

* indicates the grant will include activities targeted to help the long-term unemployed
^ indicates the grant will include on-the-job training

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SOURCE U.S. Department of Labor