Fenty Administration announced $2.56 million dollars in job training grants awarded to District training providers and community based organizations.
The Fenty Administration today announced $2.56 million dollars in job training grants awarded to District training providers and community based organizations, including programs based in Wards 5, 7 and 8 – areas of the city hardest hit by the national economic downturn.
After a competitive grant process, the Department of Employment Services (DOES), the District’s labor and workforce development agency, made awards to 15 job training organizations. Today DOES announced that $1,277,000 will go to provide occupational skills / jobs training in the high-demand / high-growth sectors of Green Jobs, Health Care and IT. The Administration also awarded an additional $1,290,000 to community based organizations that will provide job readiness, skills building and re-employment support services to residents in coordination with the District’s One Stop Career Centers.
“In response to the very challenging economic conditions created by the national recession, we have been making an unprecedented investment in workforce development and job training for the people of Washington, DC,” said Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. “These job training grant awards today are part of a $30 million investment in adult job training this year into provide assistance to those who are looking for work.”
“These investments will help develop a skilled workforce that is essential to our economic recovery – and will provide hope and opportunity to individuals and families in the District who are struggling to make ends meet and get back to work,” said Joseph Walsh, Director of DOES, DC’s labor and workforce development agency.
The awards announced today were supported by federal stimulus from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
“Thanks to the support of President Obama and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, these federal Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds enable us to expand critical job training and employment programs for District residents,” added Walsh.
Grants awarded today include an innovative partnership to help homeless people gain employment. Support for job training for blind and service-disabled veterans. In all, more than 1,300 residents will be served by these grants.
The Four Grant Categories and Recipients are:
Green Jobs
The District is leading the way on providing opportunities for Green Jobs for DC residents. We’ve created partnerships for training, skills building, and job placement in the areas of weatherization, energy efficiency and other green construction and maintenance areas. Today’s announcement includes an additional $700,000 to support job training in green jobs fields. These training programs go beyond weatherization to innovative green fields, including computer recycling, green building services and green auditing skills training.
Green Job occupational training grants:
| Grant Recipient | Award Amount | Training/Services Provided | Number Served |
| Spanish Catholic Center for Catholic Charities | $150,000 | Weatherization | 50 |
| Arch | $ 225,989 | Energy Conservation and solar | 50 |
| Strive | $ 80,395 | Energy Audit Training | 36 |
| Byte Back | $ 100,000 | Computer refurbishing (recycling) | 50 |
| SOME (So Others Might Eat) | $ 150,000 | Maintenance Repair (HVAC) | 50 |
Health Care and IT
Health Care and IT are two of the fastest growing sectors of our economy in DC, and with new plans from the federal government to support health care IT modernization the sector is poised to grow even more. Today’s grant awards more than $500,000 in occupational skills training in the healthcare and IT fields. These include training in home health care services and medical administrative services, which will provide additional opportunities that connect district residents with training and retraining that will put them on a direct path to long term job placement.
Health Care and IT Occupational Training grants:
| Grant Recipient | Award Amount | Training/Services Provided | Number Served |
| Year Up | $ 115,849 | IT Training | 20 |
| Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind | $ 30,085 | Digital Data Scan (IT) | 5 |
| OIC | $ 250,000 | Home Healthcare Aides | 50 |
| SOME | $ 175,000 |
Medical Administrative Assistant and health information technology sector |
50 |
Work Readiness/Re-employment
Many residents may need re-employment and work readiness skills in addition to occupational training. These residents have particular challenges in finding employment due to barriers that prevent them from obtaining and retaining a job and may require concentrated attention in areas that will enhance their employability prospects or readiness for occupational skills training.
To help address this, the District is leading in innovation to create more re-employment training opportunities working with community partners and our One Stop Career Centers. This will allow DC to expand the reach of its One Stop Career Centers and provide more residents with increased access to services to prepare them for job placement and long term success in the workforce.
Re-employment Service Grant Awards:
| Grant Recipient | Award Amount | Training/Services Provided | Number Served |
| Dress for Success | $ 150,000 | Intensive re-employment services for women | 60 |
| Second Chance Employment | $ 150,000 |
Intensive skills training for low income homeless women |
75 |
| ARRIBA | $ 90,000 | Intensive re-employment services for Hispanic persons with disabilities | 120 |
| The Urban League of Greater Washington | $ 150,000 |
Intensive re-employment for unemployed and under-employed |
60 |
| The Perry School | $ 149,111 | Intensive re-employment services for adults | 200 |
Workforce Partnership Grant – Pilot Program
The District is awarding $600,000 to fund a pilot program for non-profit groups who will work in partnership with DOES to provide additional supportive services. This will allow us to expand the reach of our One Stop Career Centers, while at the same time this collaboration will provide customers with increased access to services to prepare them for job placement and long term success in the workforce.
These innovative, pilot partnerships will increase access to District residents seeking job training and employment services; develop strategic partnerships to improve workforce development support services; and develop more comprehensive services designed to increase job placement and retention support activities.
Workforce Partnership Grant Pilot Program Awards:
| Grant Recipient | Award Amount | Training/Services Provided | Number Served |
| The Workplace DC | $400,000 | Work readiness, life skills, re-employment services | 250 |
| Jobs for Homeless/ Jobs Have Priority | $200,000 | Life skills, GED/EDP, soft skills and vocational training in construction | 200 |
Media Contacts
- Jennifer Nguyen - (202) 340-8420