Labor Law Center Blog » Blog Archive » Wyoming Employment Grant Announced

Wyoming Employment Grant Announced

June 11th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

The United States Department of Labor awarded a grant of more than $1 million to a community college in Casper, Wyoming. This is one of the 72 community colleges in 34 states awarded under the President’s Community-based Job Training Grants program. President George W. Bush introduced this program in his 2004 State of the Union Address. This grant, as well as the others, is to be used for the training of workers in skills related to fast growing occupations like construction, energy, advanced manufacturing, and healthcare.

Elaine Chao, U.S. Secretary of Labor, expressed, “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.” The Wyoming employment grant was given chosen in a competition between 429 schools. Secretary Chao stated “Community colleges are vital partners in educating and preparing workers for good jobs in their local area.”

The Casper College for energy education programs received the Wyoming employment grant. The grant is for $1,015,602. The school has an extended history of successful scholarship awards.

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco states that “Community colleges are closely tied to the areas they serve, and they have proven themselves adept at responding to the regional workforce demands of numerous industries.” She also mentions that “Today’s awards recall the imperative that businesses and the workforce system team up with their region’s community colleges to ensure that workers are armed with the right skills to thrive in the 21st century economy.”

So far, over 104 awards have been made since the program’s 2005 initiation. The principle of the Wyoming Dept. of Labor grants is to improve worker skills in the area, especially in mandatory areas like energy. Our nation’s success is partially dependant on the community college’s ability to equip workers with the skills they need to help the economy.