July 29 - August 4, 2022

EDA announced 37 American Rescue Plan (ARP) investments from July 29-August 4, 2022, totaling $506,282,303.20, which is matched by $186,040 in local investments. These investments include the following: (1) $6,282,307 in five ARP Economic Adjustment Assistance projects to assist communities nationwide in their efforts to respond to and recover from the devastating impacts to the economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes two projects for $744,155 that will help create 99 jobs, save 15 jobs, and leverage $4,000,000 in private investments; and (2) $499,999,996.20 in 32 ARP Good Jobs Challenge Projects to assist industry-led workforce training partnerships across the country to invest in innovative approaches to workforce development that will increase the supply of trained workers and help workers secure jobs in 15 key industries that are essential to U.S. supply chains, global competitiveness, and regional development.

• $506,282,303.20 in 37 ARP projects, matched by $186,040 in local investments, as follows:
  • One ARP Economic Adjustment Assistance Research and Networks Project for $5,392,352, with no local match, to invest in research that assesses the effectiveness of EDA’s programs, and provides support for stakeholder communities around key EDA initiatives.
    • $5,392,352, with no local match, to the National Association of Development Organizations Research Foundation, Washington, District of Columbia, to support the National Association of Development Organizations Research Foundation (NADO RF) and its sub-awards National Association of Regional Councils (NARC); University Economic Development Association (UEDA); First Nations Development Institute (FNDI); and the National Center for Regional Economic Development (NCRED) with organizing, managing, and promoting the Economic Development District Community of Practice (EDD CoP). This five-year initiative will transform and enhance the national network of Economic Development Districts (EDDs) to establish a formal community of practice that promotes information sharing, ideas exchange, and peer-to-peer learning as well as offer training, information, and research designed specifically for the CoP. Once implemented, the goal of the CoP is to provide tools, resources, and networking opportunities to EDDs to build their organizational capacity, enabling them to guide their regions to become more competitive, inclusive, equitable, and resilient.
  • Two ARP Economic Adjustment Assistance Projects for $744,155, matched by $186,040 in local investments, to help communities nationwide plan, build, innovate, and put people back to work through infrastructure, technical assistance, planning, and revolving loan programs designed to meet their local needs.
    • $412,105, matched by $103,027 in local investment, to the East Central Iowa Council of Governments/Creative Adventure Labs (dba Rural Idea Network), Cedar Rapids/Lynn County (Project: Dubuque/Dubuque County), Iowa, to support the East Central Iowa Council of Governments, in collaboration with the Creative Adventure Labs, with expanding programs and staffing to additional communities for innovation labs (rural coworking/accelerators) and business labs (virtual entrepreneur services), to support a minimum of 150 business owners in an additional 15 rural communities across Iowa. The project will help repurpose vacant downtown storefronts to create rural coworking, networking and learning spaces to help foster new private capital investment, partnerships, and job creation, while bolstering activity for existing businesses, to boost economic resiliency throughout the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 99 jobs.
    • $332,050, matched by $83,013 in local investment, to the Midlands Technical College Enterprise Campus Authority/Midlands Technical College/City of Columbia, Columbia/Richland County, South Carolina, to support road infrastructure to provide ingress and egress to four parcels within an industrial park located in the Midlands Technical College’s Northeast Campus in Columbia, South Carolina. This expansion opportunity for the industrial park will diversify its manufacturing base from pharmaceuticals to high-tech commercial graphics manufacturing. The project will enable the Midlands Technical College Enterprise Campus Authority to return to normal operating conditions after the abrupt halt of traditional economic development activity due to the impacts of COVID-19. In addition, global travel restrictions imposed on outbound and inbound travel prevented domestic and international companies from outsourcing their expansion opportunities. Once completed, these improvements will foster new private capital investment, partnerships, and job creation, while bolstering activity for existing businesses, to boost economic resiliency throughout the region. The grantees estimate that this investment will help save 15 jobs and leverage $4,000,000 in private investment.
  • One ARP Economic Adjustment Assistance Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation Project for $80,800, with no local match, to accelerate the recovery of the travel, tourism and outdoor recreation industry and build back the communities that depend on the industry.
    • $80,800, with no local match, to the Government of Guam Department of Administration, Hagatna/Guam County (Project: Agana Heights/Guam County), Guam, to support the design and installation of coastal signs throughout the island to facilitate public/tourism trade access to recreational sites. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the tourism trade on the island and resulted in the loss of jobs. Once completed, the project will assist in the island's recovery and make it more resilient to fluctuations in tourism, which will help increase employment opportunities, save jobs, spur private investment, and advance economic resiliency throughout the region.
  • One ARP Indigenous Communities Project for $65,000, with no local match, to support the needs of Tribal Governments and Indigenous communities.
    • $65,000, with no local match, to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee/Swain County, North Carolina, to support the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians with conducting a business and economic study to assess impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and strategies for sustainable business and economic recovery in Cherokee, North Carolina. The project will assist the Tribe in determining actions needed to build an economy that will be resilient to future economic shocks and identify how the community can collaboratively build out a more productive and sustainable technology-based economy that engages local workforce development, economic development, and business development. Once completed, the Tribe will expand the services it offers to the community to boost the socioeconomic factors on the Reservation.
  • $499,999,996.20 in 32 ARP Good Jobs Challenge Projects to support industry-led workforce training partnerships across the country
    • $23,900,442 to the Office of Workforce Strategy, State of Connecticut, to fund the Strengthening Sectoral Partnerships Initiative that will train and place thousands of workers – particularly from historically-underserved communities – in high-demand jobs in four priority sector areas: manufacturing, information technology, healthcare, and biomedicine. The project will pursue a robust, statewide approach to the Good Jobs theory of change through several sector partnerships with workforce boards and chambers of commerce from across the state serving as backbone organizations. In order to design training systems that are employer-led, the awardee has secured over 50 employer letters of commitment, including from General Dynamics - Electric Boat, Yale New Haven Health, and Hartford Healthcare.
    • $23,687,365 to the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Northeast North Carolina, Piedmont Triad Region of North Carolina, and Charlotte metro area of North Carolina. At the intersection of good jobs, clean energy, and equity, STEPs4GROWTH is addressing growing regional demand and propelling North Carolina into a clean energy future. Led by North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State (NC A&T) University, the largest Historically Black College and University in the nation, the project will span 16 distressed counties in the state, including ten Tier 1 counties encompassing “Black Belt” rural communities. Employers in the coalition include, but are not limited, to Siemens Energy, Duke Energy, Blue Ridge Power, and Strata Clean Energy. With a focus on equity, the coalition will utilize mobile training units in these rural areas to remove barriers to access and meet workers where they are. This coalition’s efforts can be used as a replicable model for providing quality, demand-driven training for the growing clean energy sector across the U.S.
    • $23,500,000 to the WTIA Workforce Institute, Multi-States (Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington). A talented technology workforce is crucial to the competitiveness of regions across the country. With funding from the Good Jobs Challenge, WTIA Workforce Institute, also known as Apprenti, will help 11 regions across the country develop their local technology workforce with a focus on diverse talent pools and underrepresented communities. Building on its proven track record of successfully carrying out apprenticeship programs in the technology sector, Apprenti will train workers for high-paying cloud computing jobs and increase economic competitiveness and growth in the regions it supports. Employer partners include Boeing and Amazon Web Services, which are partnering to scale this nationwide, sustainable apprenticeship model for the cloud computing industry.
    • $23,500,000 to the Washington Student Achievement Council, State of Washington. The Washington Student Achievement Council (the state’s higher education agency) is bolstering its economy by connecting jobseekers with local, quality jobs through its career pathway project, Career Connect Washington (CCW), which supports the state’s largest industries. CCW is a coalition of industry, organized labor, state government and other stakeholders. Several major Washington employers have signed letters of commitment including Kaiser Permanente, Providence, BECU, and McKinstry. EDA’s investment in the Washington Jobs Initiative will enhance the CCW infrastructure by building sectoral partnerships in six high-demand sectors: advanced manufacturing and aerospace; construction; energy and clean technology; financial services; healthcare, and information technology and cybersecurity. Backbone organizations include but are not limited to SEIU’s Training Fund, Washington Bankers Association, and CleanTech Alliance. These new partnerships are designed to place Washington residents into jobs and strengthen the state’s and the nation’s economic recovery.
    • $23,492,808 to the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association of Educational and Industrial Development Institute, State of Ohio. The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association’s (OMA) project is supporting the growth of a diverse, new generation of skilled manufacturing workers in partnership with over 100 employers including Honda, Lincoln Electric and Kenworth. OMA is diversifying an aging, male-dominated industry though robust partnerships with leading community-based organizations, to recruit and retain women, urban populations, and people from Appalachian coal communities into quality careers in manufacturing. Backed by millions of dollars in outside funding, OMA will scale its evidence based Entry-Level Learn and Earn (ELLE) model across its network of 16 sector partnerships, with backbone organizations including the Appalachian Ohio Manufacturers’ Coalition, Ohio State University, and the Lorain County Manufacturing Sector Partnership.
    • $23,015,216 to the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation, Central Valley in California. The project unites dozens of employers, such as T-Mobile, VF Outdoor, Sierra Agra, and Gibson Wine Company, and key stakeholders in California’s Central Valley to develop the local workforce and strengthen its economy. This project aims to bolster and diversify an economy still dominant in agriculture by placing residents into high-quality jobs in four growth industries. Its financial services partnership, led by Fresno K-16 Collaborative, will build paid training opportunities including pre-apprenticeships and Registered Apprenticeships with leading employers. Its manufacturing partnership, led by San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance and Generation USA, will provide bootcamp training and individualized training pathways to meet demand from hundreds of local manufacturers. Its transportation, distribution, and logistics partnership, led by Madera Workforce Board, will meet demand from various local small- and medium-sized businesses that support two nearby port cities. Its building and construction partnership, led by Fresno Workforce Development Board, will build on over a decade of partnership with unions and local employers by placing hundreds of individuals into well-paying jobs in the trades. To meet the needs of targeted underserved populations, the awardee has partnered with UniteUs to assess all participants for unmet service needs, connect them with tailored services, track outcomes, and identify gaps and disparities in real time.
    • $23,002,304 to the Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (EDIC) of Boston, Greater Boston region in Massachusetts. In partnership with over 100 local employers, including Mass General Brigham and the Alliance of Massachusetts YMCAs, EDIC will create demand-driven pathways into quality childcare, healthcare, and energy jobs. Its childcare sectoral partnership, led by Community Advocates for Young Learners (CAYL) Institute, will develop a pipeline of licensed childcare professionals as a notable strategy to bolster the care economy in the region. Its healthcare sector partnership, led by the Boston Healthcare Careers Consortium (HCC), will build off the prominence of the local health industry to place talent into healthcare careers with advancement opportunities. Its clean energy sector partnership, led by Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving Institution, will partner with local unions to develop skilled journeymen workers to develop clean energy infrastructure. Together, these partnerships project to place thousands of local Boston residents, with a focus on communities of color and women, into well-paying jobs in three industries that are crucial to the region’s future growth and prosperity.
    • $22,952,185 to the Maryland Department of Labor, Central Maryland, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and Maryland’s Capital Region, to support the growing offshore wind industry by implementing a new apprenticeship model. In partnership with leading employers – including Chesapeake Shipbuilding, Crystal Steel Fabricators, US Wind, and Orsted Offshore North America – and seven local unions, this awardee will build a training model that meets the needs of employers and local communities. With a focus on formerly incarcerated individuals, veterans, disconnected youth, and other underserved populations, the awardee will train thousands of individuals to enter well-paying jobs in the industry.
    • $22,871,501 to the Florida Gulf Coast University Board of Trustees, Southwest Florida. In partnership with backbone organization Collaboratory (formerly known as Southwest Florida Community Foundation), Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) will accelerate credential-attainment and job placement in four leading local industries to support Southwest Florida’s economy. FGCU plans to recruit rural, Black, and Hispanic job seekers into pipelines that result in industry-recognized credentials and a career with local employers, including Lee Health, NCH Healthcare System, and K-12 school districts in five local counties. FGCU is also partnering with employers that are strengthening American supply chains: Airglades, which is developing a new cargo airport, and Arthrex, which is addressing global shortages in critical medical devices. With attention to equity, FGCU will work in partnership with Goodwill and United Way, to provide wraparound supports and to design systems that meet the needs of local underserved communities.
    • $22,776,361 to Philadelphia Works, Inc., Southeastern Pennsylvania. Philadelphia Works, a non-profit workforce organization, will implement three sector partnerships in healthcare, energy, and building and construction, in partnership with employers including Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, PECO, and Monroe Energy. The awardee’s healthcare backbone organization, The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative, is a workforce intermediary that has placed 97 percent of its program graduates into well-paying jobs and has long-standing relationships with key healthcare employers like the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Its energy sector partnership, led by the Philadelphia Energy Authority, will train workers for the rapidly growing local solar market. Its infrastructure sector partner, the Philadelphia Area Labor Management Committee (a partnership between business and labor), leads the BUILT-RITE program, a coalition of contractors, unions, and construction users established in 1985. Together these three sector partnerships will create pathways into well-paying, union jobs with a focus on local historically underserved communities.
    • $21,524,841 to the Mid-South Center for Occupational Innovation, Eastern Arkansas, Northwest Mississippi, West Tennessee. The Mid-South Center for Occupational Innovation, in partnership with local employers, will support growing industries in the rural South by establishing one-stop Accelerated Skills Training centers in East Arkansas, North Mississippi, and West Tennessee. By working in partnership with Ford Motor Company, the project will support the growing electric vehicle industry following Ford’s announcement that it will build a multi-billion-dollar facility in western Tennessee. This project will also strengthen American supply chains by creating a pipeline of skilled workers for employers like FedEx, whose World Hub in Memphis is the centerpiece of its global distribution and delivery operations. Its backbone organizations—Greater Memphis Chamber (manufacturing), University of Memphis (transportation, distribution, and logistics), and Moore Tech (building and construction)—will work in close partnership with local employers and community organizations to ensure training programs quickly lead to the skilled workforce needed for the region’s economy to expand in the coming years
    • $21,464,202 to the Foundation for California Community College, Northern Interior California. In direct response to the wildfire crisis that threatens communities across the State of California, the Foundation for California Community Colleges (FCCC) will partner with industry and leading educational institutions to scale a statewide infrastructure for training in forest health and fire safety. FCC will partner with employers from across the state including Mountain Enterprises, PG&E, and Arbor Works. The emerging forestry and fire safety sector has the potential to grow into a $39 billion industry, yet there are currently projected shortages of thousands of workers for relevant well-paying jobs with benefits, including but not limited to fire and forestry crew leads, conservation scientists, and U.S. Forest Service crew members. By working to recruit, support and train local communities in partnership with multiple Hispanic-serving institutions, Indigenous-led partners and other local community-based organizations, the project will expand the industry’s talent pool and diversify the field.
    • $18,637,749 to the City of New York Human Resources Administration, New York, New York. New York City’s Human Resources Administration (HRA) will support workforce development efforts in the local building and construction industry as well as its transportation, distribution, and logistics industry – two industries critical to supporting New York City’s local economy and supply chain. The NYC Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development will serve as the backbone organization to the building and construction sectoral partnership and the Consortium for Worker Education (the workforce development arm of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO) will serve as the backbone organization for the transportation, distribution, and logistics sectoral partnership. Both organizations aim to bridge the gap between employers in these industries seeking a diverse workforce and individuals reliant on local public assistance systems. With a focus on clients served through Cash Assistance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and NYC Housing Authority’s public housing program, HRA will support recruitment and training efforts designed to place New Yorkers into good-paying union jobs in these two sectors. HRA partners include six local unions and the City University of New York system. The project will also leverage the NYC Project Labor Agreement (PLA) to place low-income New Yorkers into union apprenticeships for construction, ensuring that union apprentices are prioritized for hire on PLA-covered city capital contracts.
    • $18,548,724 to the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership is a nonprofit organization that operates the largest public workforce system in the country and has placed over 90,000 workers into jobs that support four critical industries to Chicago’s economy. Two healthcare sector partnerships will focus on training workers in Chicago’s healthcare industry and will be led by the non-profit Health & Medicine Policy Research Group. The Cook County Bureau of Economic Development will lead a manufacturing sector partnership focused on placing Chicago workers into quality manufacturing jobs. Olive Harvey College will lead a transportation, distribution, and logistics sector partnership, ensuring a robust workforce that is essential to the region’s and country’s supply chain. P33 – a non-profit founded in 2019 to better connect Chicago technology employers with local stakeholders – will lead an information technology sector partnership to train and place workers in jobs in the local technology industry. The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership has over 40 letters of commitment from leading employers and has also partnered with the Chicago Workforce Funders Alliance, which engages over 30 major Chicago-based philanthropic funders of workforce development. With ready-to-scale projects in key sectors, the awardee will create sustainable pipelines to good-paying jobs with a focus on communities on Chicago’s South and West sides.
    • $17,500,000 to the City of Springfield, 51 counties in Southeast Missouri. The City of Springfield will implement three sector partnerships to build and train the local workforce to support Springfield’s healthcare, trucking, and education industries. The city has secured employer commitments from local employers including but not limited to CoxHealth, Jordan Valley Community Health Center, Proffer Wholesale Produce, and Penmac. In partnership with three established backbone organizations--Truck Dynasty Driving Academy (trucking), Missouri State University (education), and Missouri Hospital Association (healthcare)-- the Quadra-Regional Workforce Alliance will train over 2000 individuals with a focus on communities of color, women, and people with disabilities. In order to achieve its goals and long-term sustainability, the awardee is leveraging $3.8 million in outside funding and has secured several letters of support from local philanthropy.
    • $16,351,025 to the University of Hawaii, State of Hawaii. The Good Jobs Challenge is investing in the University of Hawaii, an EDA University Center and an Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution, to support four of Hawaii’s major industries: healthcare; information technology; energy and resilience; and film, arts, and media. The University of Hawaii will partner with backbone organizations Healthcare Association of Hawaii (healthcare), Chamber of Commerce Hawaii (information technology), Hawaii Creative Industries Division (film, arts, and media), and the Hawaii State Energy Office (energy and resilience). The sectoral partnerships funded by this program will train thousands of workers, with a focus on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities, to secure quality jobs with local employers including Adventist Health Castle, Bank of Hawaii, and Diagnostic Laboratory Services. These partnerships include several well-established unions including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1260, IBEW Local 11986, UNITE HERE Local 5 and employers like Booz Allen Hamilton, Hawaii Electric, and Queen’s Health System.
    • $15,368,492 to Persevere, West and Middle Tennessee. Persevere will support local technology firms and provide good job opportunities by scaling its model for training justice-impacted Americans through intensive skills training and work-based learning. The Tennessee Technology Workforce Alliance’s system is employer-driven, with employers including Banyan Labs, Epic Games, and ProTech committing to design curriculum, train instructors, provide on-the-job training opportunities and hire graduates. Persevere has also secured partnerships with the Tennessee Department of Correction to start training individuals who are currently incarcerated and with community-based organizations such as Ladies of Hope Ministries which has a history working with Google to foster tech pathways for formerly incarcerated women.
    • $14,895,601 to Nevadaworks, Northern Nevada. Serving rural and indigenous communities in the region, Nevadaworks (northern Nevada’s workforce board) is building a regional workforce system to place workers into good jobs across four key industry sectors -- manufacturing, healthcare services, information technology (IT) and transportation/logistics. The Northern Nevada Equity in Employment Project includes four backbone organizations: Nevada Industry Excellence (manufacturing backbone, a Manufacturing Extension Partnership center), Nevada Hospital Association (healthcare), the Economic Development Authority for Western Nevada (information technology), and Truckee Meadows Community College (transportation / logistics). The partnership has together 15 committed companies, including innovators such as Tesla (which opened the world’s largest-volume battery factory in Northern Nevada in 2014) and Fulcrum Biofuels. The project is also backed by local unions and leverages a network of more than 1,800 manufacturing firms through its Manufacturing Extension Partnership backbone organization.
    • $14,641,135.20 to the Illinois Central College, Central Illinois. Illinois Central College will serve as System Lead Entity and Backbone Organization for a new information technology sector partnership aimed at strengthening Central Illinois’s economy. The project will partner with over 40 companies, including Accenture, JP Morgan Chase, i3 broadband, and OSF Healthcare, providing the skilled technology and cybersecurity professionals needed to strengthen and grow large and small employers. Many of these employers have not only signed letters committing to hire trainees, but to also provide wraparound services to those going through training. With plans to start training low-income residents starting as early as high school, the awardee will build a pipeline of skilled workers to enter high-paying jobs in the field. With a focus on equity, Illinois Central College will also partner with several community-based organizations including Goodwill Industries, METEC, and the tri-county Urban League.
    • $12,087,373 to the Workforce Solutions Rural Capital, Rural Central Texas (Liano, Burnet, Blanco, Bastrop, Lee and Fayette Counties). In rural central Texas, residents face significant barriers to obtaining quality jobs, including gaps in educational attainment, lack of access to broadband, and disruption in local economies spurred by the recent closure of a coal mine. This project will establish and fund two sectoral partnerships with backbone organization Workforce Network, Inc. Focusing on the western area of the region and Smithville Workforce Training Center focusing on the eastern area of the region. Both sector partnerships will prioritize training programs and apprenticeships in skilled trades, IT/financial services, and healthcare for historically underserved populations including immigrants, women, and low-income individuals. Employer partners include Hill Country Builders Association, Quick Connect Electrical, Ascension Seton, Imagine Solutions, and CMIT Solutions.
    • $11,380,401 to UnidosUS, Denver, Colorado and Puerto Rico. UnidosUS, the nation's largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, will bolster the economies of Puerto Rico and Denver, with a focus on training Latino populations in both locations. In Puerto Rico, UnidosUS will partner with the local One Stop Career Center, to train residents in the growing construction and aerospace industries, with target roles including pipefitters, steamfitters, electricians, and as aircraft mechanics. This investment will support Puerto Rico’s economy as it recovers from multiple natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. In Denver, UnidosUS will partner with Mi Casa Resource Center to train residents in the professional services industry with target roles including healthcare administration, human resources, and legal services. This investment in training professional service workers will strengthen several growth industries in Denver, by providing the skilled professional services workers needed for a variety of businesses to expand and thrive.
    • $11,006,941 to the Hampton Roads Workforce Council, Hampton Roads region in VA and NC. Located in a region with the 9th largest African American population in the nation, Hampton Roads Workforce Council will serve as the lead entity and backbone organization building regional talent pipelines across counties in Virginia and North Carolina, with an emphasis on in-demand blue economy, clean energy, and related cybersecurity jobs. The project has garnered support from large employers, such as Newport News Shipbuilding (the sole designer, builder and refueler of United States Navy aircraft carriers) and Dominion Energy. It also includes community-based organizations, such as the Urban League, which will establish training pathways in coordination with HBCUs to increase career opportunities for workers in maritime engineering and robotics.
    • $10,764,981 to the City of Birmingham, seven-county Birmingham region of Alabama. The pandemic left Birmingham’s healthcare workforce depleted and its economy vulnerable to the next public health crisis. With demand from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, Children’s of Alabama, Ascension, and other leading employers, Birmingham will build a pipeline of skilled healthcare and digital health workers through its new Birmingham Region Health Partnership. This partnership will provide marginalized communities with pathways into high-quality healthcare jobs, with a focus on people of color who have been historically excluded from high-paying healthcare job opportunities. One of the city’s key partners is the Women’s Foundation of Alabama, which will work in partnership with training providers and employers to provide women with the services and support they need to complete training and be placed into quality healthcare careers.
    • $9,999,939 to Miami Dade College, South Florida. An NSA-designated National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, Miami Dade College will support the region’s growing role as a technology hub and catalyze economic mobility for underserved workers through Miami Tech Works. With support from over 30 employers – including Blackstone Technology and Innovations, Assurant, 8base Inc, and Microsoft – Miami Dade College will develop pathways that meet local employer demand for skilled talent. As a large Hispanic-serving, four-year institution in the country, and in partnership with local education providers, Miami Tech Works will expand opportunities for underserved communities to engage in high quality cybersecurity training and to gain industry certifications.
    • $9,706,966 to the Alaska Primary Care Association, Inc., State of Alaska. Alaska Primary Care Association (APCA) is supporting the growth and resiliency of Alaska’s healthcare economy, its fastest growing industry and largest economic sector. The Good Jobs Challenge is investing in APCA’s Alaska Healthcare Workforce Pipeline Project that will expand job opportunities and improve care in Alaska’s healthcare sector, with a focus on Alaskan Native people. The project will train and employ thousands of new healthcare workers to support the continued growth and expansion of Alaska’s local economy through quality pre-apprenticeships, registered apprenticeship programs, and a new healthcare career pathway that will be available to all Alaskan high school students. APCA will leverage its vast network of 60 employer members that span urban, rural, Tribal, and non-Tribal communities across the entire state, including Foundation Health Partners and Hope Community Resources. The project will also work with unions, such as Alaska AFL-CIO and IBEW, to support its training and job placement efforts.
    • $9,621,600 to the Chamber Foundation, North Dakota and Minnesota border region. The Chamber Foundation, in collaboration with backbone organizations Grand Farm Research and Education Initiative (agriculture and food production), North Dakota State College of Science (manufacturing), and Emerging Prairie (information technology), will bolster the county’s economy by developing the skilled workforce needed to support the local agriculture, manufacturing, and technology industries. In partnership with local employers – including Healthy Food Ingredients, Marvin, and Razor Consulting Services – the Chamber Foundation plans to ensure that training programs meet the unique skills needs of these local employers and the regional economy. With a focus on undeserved communities – including people of color, immigrants, veterans and military spouses, justice-impacted individual – the awardee will reduce barriers to starting and completing training by providing a variety of wraparound services.
    • $8,760,995 to Dalles College, North Central Texas. Dallas College, a majority minority institution and the largest community college in Texas, will work in partnership with the North Central Texas Council of Governments to develop and grow a biotechnology workforce in North Central Texas to support its local economy. Through partnerships with rural community colleges and several leading employers, including Children’s Health Medical Center, Evolve Biologics, and McKesson, the project will expand the number of skilled workers in clinical labs, bioinformatics, and biomanufacturing. The project will emphasize hands-on learning, utilizing the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas’ skills-based Pathways to Work: Skills-based Hiring Lab training. With dedicated case managers, this awardee will ensure its participants have the tailored supports they need to complete training programs to obtain a quality job in the local biotechnology sector.
    • $8,423,552 to the Charleston Chamber Foundation, Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties in South Caorlina. Healthcare is a vital industry to South Carolina’s Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties. The Lowcountry Healthcare Careers Collaborative (LCC), developed by the Charleston Chamber Foundation, is a new healthcare sector partnership designed to bridge historic gaps in employment representation by training a diverse coalition of healthcare workers. This project aims to ignite inclusive and equitable growth in the region that is equally beneficial to local industry, economy, and workers. The Charlestown Chamber Foundation, through the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, is partnering with the Educate, Empower, and Elevate Foundation (E3), an advocacy organization led by Black women. E3 will work as an equal partner to ensure the program is inclusive of populations that have been historically excluded from accessing quality career pathways in the local healthcare industry. Roper St. Francis Healthcare, a local non-profit healthcare system with over 5,000 employees, will serve as the leading employer and backbone organization of the partnership in order to identify real skills needs and facilitate efficient job placements.
    • $6,353,173 to the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, Northern New Mexico. With a focus on Latino, Indigenous, and formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as individuals recovering from substance use disorder, the Northern New Mexico Workforce Integration Network (WIN) is creating pathways for workers into high-paying jobs in healthcare and construction. WIN’s healthcare partner, Santa Fe Community College, will scale its local healthcare sector partnership along with employers including Holy Cross Hospital, Santa Fe Recovery Center, and Presbyterian Hospital Espanola. This sector partnership will invest in mirroring Arizona’s Clinical Education Consortium system that streamlines student pathways into clinical on-the-job training. WIN will also respond to the needs of the local construction sector through a partnership with the Regional Development Corporation (a Northern New Mexico economic development organization) and employers including Arpad Builders, Northern Rio Arriba Electric Cooperative, and Bradbury Stamm Construction. Leveraging its network of local community colleges, unions, and employers, RDC will deploy a mobile classroom to provide high-quality classroom training and apprenticeships to hard-to-reach populations.
    • $5,000,000 to Lakota Funds, all nine Tribal reservations in South Dakota. The Indigenous homebuilding industry cannot grow and provide much-needed housing to Tribal communities without a skilled workforce. As the lead for the Building Jobs, Building Homes project, Lakota Funds – a Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) – will address a severe housing shortage on Tribal lands (across nine reservations) by training Indigenous people in construction trades and as certified appraisers and inspectors. In partnership with South Dakota State University, Lakota Funds will implement a certified appraiser program, addressing a significant barrier to housing construction on Tribal lands. To support this underserved population, Lakota Funds will provide a variety of wraparound services during training.
    • $3,439,407 to the Southwestern Oregon Workforce Investment Board, Southwestern Oregon. Trucking is a high-wage, high-demand sector critical to mitigating supply-chain disruption. Driving Prosperity will solidify and expand sector partnerships to ensure sustainability and growth in the southwestern Oregon transportation industry. This program plans to train hundreds of new truck drivers in partnership with employers including A&M Transport, Bettendorft Trucking, Combined Transport, and Thomas H Ireland Incorporated. The awardee will expand the talent pool and diversify the workforce through targeted recruitment and provision of wrap-around services to ensure their trainees can attain their licenses and find good paying jobs.
    • $1,794,717 to the United Way of Central Iowa, Central Iowa (Polk, Dallas, and Warren Counties). United Way of Central Iowa is diversifying the local healthcare workforce to lead to better health outcomes and a stronger regional economy. The Good Jobs Challenge partnership will create career pathways into new high-demand healthcare positions by convening the leading healthcare employers in the region: the community’s three major hospital systems, long-term care institutions, community organizations, and educational institutions. To ensure all participants are put on a pathway to prosperity, United Way will prioritize entry-level positions that offer clear paths to advancement and provide each participant with a case manager that will tailor services to the individual. To meet individuals where they are, the program will offer a tiered entry system based on educational attainment ranging from requiring no post-secondary education to providing career advancement opportunities for workers with B.S. degrees in nursing.