The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is providing $90 million in YouthBuild program grants focused on occupational skills training, employment services and educational support for youth in poor communities.
The grants, as described in a Nov. 23 DOL press release, will be for disadvantaged youth between the ages of 16-24 in areas where inequality poses a hindrance to academic and career skill development. The funds will provide pre-apprenticeship services for industries like construction, healthcare, information technology and hospitality.
“Historically, high school students in the nation’s poorest neighborhoods have faced disproportionate barriers to obtaining an education equal to that available to students in the wealthiest neighborhoods,” the release said. “In the past year, closures and virtual learning forced by the pandemic are deepening this inequality and are likely to hurt disadvantaged students’ future earning potential, a recent Yale University study shows."
The grants are supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which follows the DOL’s vision of prioritizing quality jobs, green building and community violence intervention, the release said. The funds will go to 75 projects across the nation with individual grants ranging from $700,000 to $1.5 million.
YouthBuild grants include work with Davis Memorial Hospital in West Virginia, which is one of the largest employers in the rural area, the release said. The YouthBuild Elkins program helps find skilled workers and partners with the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and Randolph County Housing Authority to develop a program to address the health concerns of area residents.
Other projects include work with an urban charter school and American Job Center in Portland, Oregon to provide apprenticeships in information technology, and Rise Up, a YouthBuild charter school in Denver, Colorado to provide training for health care employment at Denver Health, the release said.
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act was signed into law on July 22, 2014, and is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training and support services, the release said. This includes matching employers with the right employee for the position. It was the first legislative reform of the public workforce system since 1998. The act is a collaboration of the DOL, U.S. Department of Education and Health and Human Services.
