labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Three California community colleges and one government agency were recently awarded coveted federal grants totaling almost $7 million. The grants, from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, are to train highly skilled workers for the 21^st century.

Schools receiving the California Dept. of Labor grants include the California Community Colleges based in Sacramento, which received a grant of $ 1,992,481 for transportation programs. Also receiving grants were Los Medanos College of the Contra Costa Community College District in Pittsburg, California. The school received a grant of $ 1,484,918 for training programs in advanced manufacturing. The West Hills Community College of Coalinga received a grant of nearly $2 million to fund programs in several disciplines.

An unusual award went to the Merced County Department of Workforce Investment, which received more than $1.8 million to fund a healthcare training program. To date, nearly all of the other awards nationwide under this program have been to community colleges.

The California Dept. of Labor grants are just 4 of several in a program across the U.S. to train workers for high-demand occupations, including construction, healthcare, advanced manufacturing and energy. The grants are awarded based on a competition between 429 schools.

“The $125 million these 72 community college partnerships will receive under the President’s Community-Based Job Training Initiative is going to help workers succeed in careers in health care, advanced manufacturing and other growing industries,” said U. S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.

So far, more than 104 grants, including the California Dept. of Labor grants, have been made since the program’s inception in 2005.  The purpose of the U.S. Labor Dept.  grants is to increase worker skills in the area, especially in high-demand areas such as healthcare. Skilled workers can enter growing industries and contribute to economic success. The community college’s ability to equip workers with the skills that are most in demand is crucial to our nation’s success.  

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