The United States Department of Labor (Department) announced the availability of $40 million in grants to expand community colleges’ ability to “meet labor market demand for a skilled workforce.”
The Strengthening Community Colleges Training grants are aimed at building the capacity of community colleges to collaborate with employers and the public workforce development system to meet local and regional demand for a skilled workforce. Community colleges are able to apply for funding as a single institution, “as a consortium of colleges in one state or across one or more community college districts in a state.” The Department stated that they expect to fund anywhere from eight to 16 grants of up to $2 million for single institutions and up to $5 million for consortium applicants.
From the press release:
The grants also build the capacity of community colleges to address challenges associated with the coronavirus health crisis, such as expanding online and technology-enabled learning, and migrating services to a virtual environment.
“Community colleges are well-positioned to support the economic recovery and help the country’s robust economy return,” said Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training John Pallasch. “These funds will strengthen colleges’ ability to make innovative changes in training our nation’s workforce that will make a difference immediately and can be sustained over the long-haul.”
The closing date for applications is October 8, 2020.
