​Federal officials on Monday announced the 32 community colleges and consortia that will receive grants totaling $500 million for job training and workforce development to help dislocated workers shift to new careers. 

The awards—which range from $2.7 million to $24.6 million—are the first installment of the four-year, $2 billion Trade Assistance Adjustment Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grants program, which was included in the 2010 Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. The response to the first solicitation of grant proposals was overwhelming. More than 200 Institutions and consortia submitted applications requesting about $3 billion.

Grantees by state with project descriptions

"These federal grants will enable community colleges, employers and other partners to prepare job candidates, through innovative programs, for new careers in high-wage, high-skills fields, including advanced manufacturing, transportation, health care and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) occupations," Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, whose department is implementing and administering the program in coordination with the U.S. Department of Education.

Colleges have key roles in multi-agency workforce initiative

In announcing the awards, the departments mentioned that, combined with the president’s recently proposed American Jobs Act—which would provide $5 billion to renovate  community colleges—the TAACCCT grants program will provide additional support for hiring and re-employment services, and is designed to increase opportunities for the unemployed. Together, they represent a “complimentary package,” according to a federal official.

Focusing on basic skills

The funding will support partnerships between community colleges and employers to develop programs that provide pathways to good jobs. This includes crafting instructional programs that meet specific industry needs, strengthening technology-enabled learning, and allowing students and workers to access free learning materials online, according to federal officials. Many of the projects will focus on revamping developmental education and tapping online education.

“The proposals funded in this first round of the TAACCCT grants program will strengthen community college capacity to build and expand innovative programs to provide workers with the skills and credentials they need in today’s economy,” according to a statement from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).

Each state will receive at least $2.5 million through the TAACCCT grants program. However, 17 states did not have a winning submission in the first round. DOL has contacted those states and is encouraging them to either focus on a submission that can be scaled up to include other colleges or develop a new proposal.

The remaining $1.5 billion in the program is expected to be disbursed annually over the next three years through a similar competitive process. States will again receive a $2.5 million minimum.

Although the funding is legislatively set aside, community college advocates are concerned that Congress will target the program in efforts to cut federal spending. AACC is encouraging member colleges to stress the importance of the funding to lawmakers.

A range of approaches

Grant winners range from single colleges to collaborations within states as well as collaborations across state lines that focus on particular industries. Below are examples:

• In Alaska, the University of Alaska Anchorage Community and Technical College will serve as the consortium leader to improve outcomes through self-paced e-learning, learning communities and e-portfolios, while completing an architectural engineering technician certificate.
• NorthWest Arkansas Community College will lead the state’s 22 two-year colleges to accelerate program completions by 15 percent by restructuring 104 certificate and 42 associate degree programs by the end of the grant period.
• Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland will lead the National STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)Consortium, a collaborative of 10 community colleges in nine states organized to develop portable, certificate-level programs in STEM. The programs will help build a national repository of high-quality technical curricula and curricular materials that can be made available at no charge to all community colleges.
• In Colorado, the Community College of Denver will lead a consortium of two-year colleges in the state to offer a variety energy-related degree and certificate programs tailored to industry specifications and job demands. Fifteen community colleges will redesign developmental education to support the targeted energy programs and seven program colleges will provide online and hybrid energy programs to connect workers with family sustaining wages and career advancement.
• Cincinnati State Technical and Community College (Ohio) will lead a consortium of 10 two-year colleges in several states and partner employers and agencies to dramatically improve health professions training across the country.