17 Apr U.S. Department of Labor announces new TAACCCT grants
4.16.14 – Washington D.C.
The Department of Labor released the grant application for the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training program today. The program, originally outlined in the stimulus, has distributed $1.5 billion in grants to over 800 community colleges over the last three years.
The final, $450 million round of grants will go to applicants with plans to boost employer engagement in worker training and create smoother career paths from college into the workforce, as well as better data sharing between state education and labor data systems.
“It’s moving in the right direction,” said Mary Alice McCarthy, a senior policy analyst for the New America Foundation, who previously worked for both the Labor and Education Departments.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will promote the new grants and other jobs training efforts from the administration during a visit to the Community College of Allegheny County West Hills Center in Oakdale, Pa., today.
At least $2.25 million in grants will flow to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the Labor Department said. Individual community colleges can apply for grants of up to $2.5 million each and groups of colleges within a state can apply for up to $15 million. The official ceiling for awards, listed on grants.gov, is $20 million.
To boost employer engagement in community colleges, the Labor department will prioritize three goals in particular:
- Forming partnerships between colleges and national employers or industry groups who can help scale up successful sector partnership strategies,
- Expanding state career pathways systems, and
- Integrating state employment and education data.
This time around the Labor Department is also encouraging applicants to work with national industry associations. The goal is to make job training programs replicable across the country.
The feds also are promising extra money for applicants that can get good state-level data on how job-training programs are faring — both on the educational achievement and employment fronts.
The deadline for applications is July 7, according to the White House. Grants will go to community colleges in all 50 states.