Labor Dept. Awards $55 Mil For Green Jobs And The Under-Served

US Department of Labor announces nearly $55 million in green jobs training grants through Recovery Act

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced nearly $55 million in green jobs grants, as authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The grants will support job training and labor market information programs to help workers, many in underserved communities, find jobs in expanding green industries and related occupations.

"Today's announcement is part of the administration's long-term commitment to fostering both immediate economic growth and a clean energy future. It's an investment that will help American workers do well while doing good," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "These grants provide an immediate return, and they are part of a larger green initiative that will help lead to increased job placements and promote economic growth."

The two categories of grant awards announced today are: State Labor Market Information Improvement Grants and Green Capacity Building Grants. Both will be administered by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration.

Green Capacity Building Grants, totaling $5.8 million, will increase the training capacity of 62 current Labor Department grant recipients through a variety of strategies, and will offer training opportunities to help individuals acquire jobs in expanding green industries. These grants will help serve underserved communities. Targeted communities include American Indians, women, at-risk youth and farm workers.

State Labor Market Information Improvement Grants, totaling $48.8 million, will support the collection and dissemination of labor market information, and will enhance the labor exchange infrastructure to provide career opportunities within clean energy industries. Grantees will be able to employ strategies that enable job seekers to connect with green job banks and help ensure that workers find employment after completing training. Thirty awards ranging from about $763,000 to $4 million were made to state workforce agencies to utilize data for workforce development strategies. Multiple state workforce agencies partnering as a consortium will use this program to gather information that is likely to have a regional, multi-state or national impact.

The grants are part of a larger Recovery Act initiative — totaling $500 million — for green jobs training grants designed to promote economic growth. The Department of Labor expects to release funding for an additional three green grant award categories over the next several months.

For a full listing and project description of each grant recipient, visit http://www.doleta.gov/pdf/GreenJobs.pdf.

Charts reflecting grantees is below.

STATE LABOR MARKET INFORMATION IMPROVEMENT - CONSORTIUM AWARDS

ORGANIZATION	CITY	STATE	CONSORTIUM MEMBERS	AMOUNT
Indiana Department of Workforce Development	Indianapolis	Ind.	Michigan and Ohio	$4,000,000
State of Louisiana Office of Occupational Information Services (OOIS), Research & Statistics Division	Baton Rouge	La.	Mississippi	$2,279,393
Maryland Department of Labor & Industry	Baltimore	Md.	District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Virginia	$4,000,000
Montana Department of Labor & Industry	Helena	Mont.	Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming	$3,877,949
Nevada Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation	Carson City	Nev.	Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Utah	$3,753,000
Vermont Department of Labor	Montpelier	Vt.	Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island	$3,999,923

STATE LABOR MARKET INFORMATION IMPROVEMENT - INDIVIDUAL STATE AWARDS

ORGANIZATION	CITY	STATE	AMOUNT
Alabama Department of Industrial Relations	Montgomery	Ala.	$1,145,210
Alaska Department of Labor & Workforce	Juneau	Alaska	$800,000
Arizona Department of Economic Security	Phoenix	Ariz.	$1,211,045
State of California/Employment Development Department	Sacramento	Calif.	$1,250,000
Delaware Department of Labor	Wilmington	Del.	$889,404
Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation	Tallahassee	Fla.	$1,250,000
Georgia Department of Labor	Atlanta	Ga.	$1,177,975
Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations	Honolulu	Hawaii	$1,247,343
State of Idaho	Boise	Idaho	$1,250,000
Iowa Workforce Development	Des Moines	Iowa	$1,172,614
Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet	Frankfort	Ky.	$1,250,000
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development	St. Paul	Minn.	$1,155,488
Missouri Department of Economic Development	Jefferson City	Mo.	$1,227,192
NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development	Trenton	N.J.	$1,249,995
New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions	Albuquerque	N.M.	$1,250,000
New York State Department of Labor	Albany	N.Y.	$1,112,207
Employment Security Commission of North Carolina	Raleigh	N.C.	$946,034
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services	Columbus	Ohio	$1,015,700
State of Oregon Employment Department	Salem	Ore.	$1,250,000
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry	Harrisburg	Pa.	$1,250,000
Puerto Rico Department of Labor & Human Resources	San Juan	Puerto Rico	$1,248,388
South Carolina Department of Commerce	Columbia	S.C.	$763,175
Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development	Nashville	Tenn.	$765,340
Washington State Employment Security Department	Olympia	Wash.