Funding Opportunities

On July 3, DOL's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) announced the availability of $125 million for the Community-Based Job Training Grants. Eligible applicants are community and technical colleges, community college districts, state community college systems, One-Stop Career Centers, and other entities in areas without access to community colleges. Grantees will build the capacity of community colleges to train for careers in high-growth, high-demand industries in regional economies. Applications are due by August 29, 2006.

ETA anticipates making approximately 75 individual awards, ranging from $500,000 to $2 million each. This solicitation is targeted at “high growth/high demand” industries – please the SGA for more detail on the criteria for determining these industries.

Applicants must propose a combination of capacity building and training activities targeted at local high-growth/high-demand industries in the context of a regional economy. Proposed capacity building strategies are expected to address significant barriers that impede the ability of the community college, or in the case of areas with no community college, the community, to meet local industry demand for workforce training. Training activities must lead to college credit or an appropriate credential.

Applicants must demonstrate that projects will be developed and implemented in the context of a strategic partnership that includes business and industry, the workforce investment system, and the continuum of education, including the K-12 education system, adult education, and four-year colleges and universities.

Note: ETA has published a correction in the August 4, 2006 FEDERAL REGISTER to explain how One-Stop Career Center applicants must apply, and to provide additional clarifications regarding direct training costs, tuition payments, and the leveraging of Workforce Investment Act resources. We urge prospective applicants to review this information.

ETA has also published a number of responses to a number of frequently asked questions that should be helpful to potential applicants. You can access the FAQ pages at:

http://www.doleta.gov/business/SGA-DFA_PY_05-11_FAQ.cfm

The Department of Labor (USDOL) announced the availability of $10 million in grants for the manufacturing sector under the High Growth Job Training Initiative. The application deadline has now been extended to 5PM on August 1, 2006. Applicants may be public, private for-profit, and private non-profit organizations. It is anticipated that individual awards will fall within the range of $750,000 to $1.5 million.

USDOL seeks to fund new and innovate approaches to meeting the workforce challenges of the high-wage, high-growth sectors of advanced manufacturing – defined as the “use of technology or other productivity-enhancing business processes” in a variety of different sub-sectors of manufacturing.

Grant applications for the current round of funding from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service still may be submitted until July 31, 2006, subject to the availability of remaining grant funds. Grant applications are reviewed and rated in the same quarter in which they are received, and grant awards are made on a quarterly basis. Through its grants awards, FMCS seeks to support and encourage workers and employers to explore ways of improving labor-management relationships, job security, and organizational effectiveness. The grant program has funded a broad range of projects including outreach, communications, strategic planning, minority recruitment and process development.

Three union-led partnerships have received funding already in 2006: Electrical Trades in Columbus, OH, received $123,000 to support educational operation labor-management team building at their Joint Apprenticeship and Training Center. The Iowa Health Buyers Alliance, an association of health purchasers – including building trades, public sector, and manufacturing unions – trying to bring down costs and improve quality in the health care industry, was awarded $125,000. FMCS also awarded $114,040 to the Skilled Trades Diversity Council in Ithaca, NY, to support efforts to recruit trainees for the skilled building trades especially among under-represented populations and women.

Application forms can be obtained online at the agency’s Web site: www.fmcs.gov. Interested parties are urged to contact the FMCS Grants Office at (202) 606-8181 with any questions they might have.