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Project ACCESS: Accelerating Career Connections and Employment Success Strategies

Administering Organization: Jobs for the Future (JFF) and the PwC Foundation

Posted Date: November 14, 2024

Closing Date for Applications: January 17, 2025

Estimated Total Program Funding: $300,000

Geographic Scope: National

Description: Jobs for the Future (JFF), with support from the PwC Foundation, is creating and supporting a cohort of 10 exemplary community and technical colleges in accelerating innovative programs that effectively connect learners—especially those facing systemic barriers, such as learners who identify as Black or Latine, women of all backgrounds, learners from low-income households and first-generation postsecondary education students—with paid work-based learning opportunities and quality jobs. Each college that is selected for this opportunity will receive $300,000 over a two-year period. Colleges will be expected to utilize these funds to strengthen, expand, and scale effective programming, enhance data collection and analysis, and share leading practices across a national network of innovative institutions.

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Making Connections 2024 – Creative Uses of Workforce Development Funding – Scalable Options for Agencies of All Sizes

This session about workforce development funding was presented as part of TWC’s Making Connections 2024 transit workforce conference in November, 2024.

Transit Workforce Center
November 2024

Session Description: Providing structured workforce development programs for frontline public transit workers is of critical importance for transit agencies as they work to retain employees, integrate new technologies, and fill vacant positions. Attendees of this session learned how to use funding available to transit agencies for workforce development, such as the additional funding awarded for zero-emission projects under the Low-No/Bus and Bus Facilities grant program, and heard from agencies about how they have utilized grant funds and other FTA funding to develop and implement training programs.

Moderator:

  • Karitsa Holdzkom: Senior Policy Analyst – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center

Speakers:

  • Zachary Bodle: Assistant Business Agent Maintenance – Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 (CA)
  • John Bodnar: Director, Office of Transit Programs – Federal Transit Administration
  • Jason Macumber: Senior Advisor of Workforce Development and Technology – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center
  • Steve Jovel: Operations Manager, Workforce Development – Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)
  • Jeff Rosenberg: Director of Government Affairs – Amalgamated Transit Union
  • Mauro Varela: Treasurer – Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1277 (CA)
  • Kristin Warsinski: CEO – Riverside Transit Agency (CA)

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Making Connections 2024 – Identifying and Accessing Funding to Support and Expand Your Workforce Development Initiatives

This session about funding opportunities for workforce development was presented as part of TWC’s Making Connections 2024 transit workforce conference in November, 2024.

Transit Workforce Center
November 2024

Session Description: Good workforce development programs require resources and investment. Funding is available through a variety of programs to help subsidize the workforce development efforts of transit agencies and their partners. With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the federal government committed to providing funding, through a variety of new and existing competitive grant programs, that can be used for workforce development and training activities. This session featured an overview of funding opportunities, the types of projects that have been awarded funding, and resources available to stay informed about workforce development related grants from a variety of sources.

Moderator:

  • Karitsa Holdzkom: Senior Policy Analyst  – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center

Speakers:

  • Eliseo Acosta Jr: Workforce Development Coordinator – Amalgamated Transit Union
  • Josh Baker: CEO – AMTRAN
  • Stu Bass: Principal – Progress Worx; Founding Director – Keystone Development Partnership
  • Jamaine “G” Gibson: Director of Apprenticeships and Workforce Development – Amalgamated Transit Union
  • Paige Shevlin: Strategic Advisor – Department of Transportation
  • Rob Gamble: Sr Workforce and Academic Strategist – California Transit Works!

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PAsmart Supporting Apprenticeship Building through Registered Apprenticeship Programs

Administering Agency: PA Department of Labor & Industry (L&I)

Posted Date: September 13, 2024

Closing Date for Applications: Friday, October 18, 2024, at 4 p.m. E.T.

Estimated Total Program Funding: $450,000

Geographic Scope: Pennsylvania

Description: The PA Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) announces the availability of approximately $450,000 in funding for the PAsmart Supporting Apprenticeship Building through Registered Apprenticeship Programs (“Supporting Apprenticeship Building”) to include one award of up to $450,000. A successful program will utilize grant funds to enhance existing partnerships and develop new avenues for registered apprenticeship in Pennsylvania while extending the reach of the Apprenticeship and Training Office (ATO). Additionally, the intent is to support technical assistance to regional consortiums of stakeholders, employers, intermediaries, training providers, and other partners by building a network of people trained on growing programming and apprenticeship ecosystems long term.

Administering Agency: Employment and Training Administration

Closing Date for Applications: Sep 16, 2024 Applications must be submitted electronically no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time.

Estimated Total Program Funding: $99,000,000

Geographic Scope: National

Description: Under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), DOL will award grants through a competitive process to organizations providing pre-apprenticeship services that support education, occupational skills training, and employment services to opportunity youth, ages 16 to 24, who are performing meaningful work and service to their communities. The YouthBuild program model prepares participants for quality jobs in a variety of careers, in diverse industry sectors, particularly in infrastructure sectors, and includes wrap-around services such as mentoring, trauma-informed care, personal counseling, transportation supports, and employment preparation – all key strategies for addressing violence in communities. YouthBuild applicants must include construction skills training and may include occupational skills training in other in-demand industries. This expansion into additional in-demand industries is the Construction Plus component. Eligible applicants for these grants are public or private non-profit agencies or organizations, including consortia of such agencies or organizations. These organizations include rural, urban, or Native American/Tribal entities that have previously served opportunity youth in a YouthBuild or other similar program. DOL will fund approximately 75 projects across the country. Individual grants will range from $700,000 to $1.5 million and require a 25 percent match from applicants, using sources other than federal funding. This FOA features a matching waiver for Tribal entities and U.S. insular areas which allows these entities to not include a match commitment in their applications. The grant period of performance for this FOA is 40 months, including a four-month planning period and a twelve-month follow-up period.

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Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grants

Administering Agency: Environmental Protection Agency

Closing Date for Applications: Jul 25, 2024

Estimated Total Program Funding: Total funds available: $932,000,000

Geographic Scope: National

Description: This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities to incentivize and accelerate the replacement of existing non-ZE Class 6 and 7 heavy-duty vehicles, which includes some transit vehicles, with ZE vehicles. The EPA anticipates awarding up to $932 million in funds under this Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles (CHDV) Grants NOFO, subject to the availability of funds, the quantity and quality of applications received, support for communities overburdened by air pollution, applicability of different business models, and other applicable considerations described in this document. This funding to support ZE vehicles will benefit communities across the United States (U.S.), especially communities that are disproportionately burdened by air pollution and marginalized by underinvestment. Funding can be used for workforce development and training.

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Critical Sector Job Quality Grants

Administering Agency: Department of Labor – Employment and Training Administration

Closing Date for Applications: July 15, 2024

Estimated Total Program Funding: $12,000,000
Award Ceiling: $3,000,000

Geographic Scope: National

Description: The purpose of this demonstration program is to support transformative efforts to improve job quality and availability of good jobs, particularly for the benefit of historically marginalized populations and communities that have experienced barriers to employment in good jobs. The primary focus of these demonstration grants is expanding job quality in the care, climate resiliency and clean energy transition, and hospitality sectors. In the transit industry, these funds could support job quality for those operating and/or maintaining zero-emission buses. These demonstration grants will support industry-led, worker-centered sector strategies built through labor-management partnerships aimed at improving job quality in key sectors.  These partnerships will address equity, job quality, and worker voice as they design training models and train workers for family-supporting jobs.  Projects under this announcement will fund both short-term capacity-building planning grants and longer-term implementation grants. 

Posted June 6, 2024 to TWC Resource Center. Please refer to the link below for the most up to date information from the funder.

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FY24 Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program

Administering Agency: Department of Transportation

Posted Date: May 13, 2024

Closing Date for Applications: Jul 12, 2024, 5:00 pm Eastern Time

Estimated Total Program Funding: Total funds available:  $50,000,000 — Grant award maximum:  $2,000,000; Grant award minimum: $250,000

Geographic Scope: National

Description: The purpose of this notice is to solicit applications for Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Stage 1 Planning and Prototyping grants. Funds for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Stage 1 SMART Grants Program are to be awarded on a competitive basis to conduct demonstration projects focused on advanced smart city or community technologies and systems to improve transportation efficiency and safety.

As established in law, projects funded by the SMART Grants Program use advanced data, technology, and applications to provide significant benefits to a local area, a State, a region, or the United States. These benefits align to the following categories: safety and reliability; resiliency; equity and access; climate; and partnerships.

The Department will prioritize SMART Grant funding applications that demonstrate the following characteristics: fit, scale, and adoption; data sharing, cybersecurity, and privacy; workforce development; and measurement and validation.

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Workforce Opportunities for Rural Communities (WORC) Round 6: A Grant Initiative for the Appalachian, Delta, and Northern Border Regions

Administering Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration

Posted Date: Apr 4, 2024

Closing Date for Applications: Jun 20, 2024, 11:59 pm Eastern Time

Estimated Total Program Funding: Total funds available:  $49,200,000 — Grant award maximum:  $1,500,000; Grant award minimum: $150,000

Geographic Scope: Appalachian, Delta, and Northern Border Regions

Description: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL, or the Department), announces the availability of approximately $49,200,000 in grant funds authorized by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) for the sixth round of Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) Initiative demonstration grants. The WORC Initiative provides grant funds to enable impacted communities to develop local and regional workforce development solutions aligned with existing economic development strategies and community partnerships to promote new, sustainable job opportunities and long-term economic vitality. Questions regarding this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) may be emailed to DOL-ETA-DWG@dol.gov. We encourage prospective applicants and interested parties to use the Grants.gov subscription option to register for future updates provided for this particular FOA.

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Passenger Ferry Grant Program

Administering Agency: Federal Transit Administration

Posted Date: Apr 17, 2023

Closing Date for Applications: Jun 17, 2023, 11:59 pm Eastern Time

Funding Range: Estimated Total Program Funding: $51,000,000

Geographic Scope: National

Description: The Passenger Ferry Program provides funding to improve the condition and quality of existing passenger ferry services, support the establishment of new passenger ferry services, and repair and modernize ferry boats, terminals, and related facilities and equipment. Under the Passenger Ferry Program only, recipients are permitted to use up to 0.5 percent of their grant award to pay for not more than 80 percent of the cost for workforce development activities and an additional 0.5 percent for costs associated with training at the National Transit Institute.

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Communities Taking Charge Accelerator

Administering Agency: U.S. Department of Energy, Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, National Energy Technology Laboratory

Posted Date: Apr 16, 2024

Concept Paper Submission Deadline: May 20, 2024

Closing Date for Applications: Jul 16, 2024

Funding Range: Total funds available:  $54,000,000 — Grant award maximum:  $4,000,000

Geographic Scope: National

Description: The Communities Taking Charge Accelerator FOA seeks applications that will help further the Joint Office’s vision of a future where everyone can ride and drive electric. This FOA will fund innovative approaches to expanding EV adoption and charging access, particularly at the local level in urbanized areas where land use, density, car ownership rates, grid considerations, and other factors add further complexities to electrifying the transportation network while the demand for transportation access is at its highest density.

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Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) Technical Assistance Grant Program

Administering Agency: U.S. Department of Labor, Womens Bureau

Posted Date: Apr 11, 2024

Closing Date for Applications: Jun 10, 2024

Funding Range: Total funds available:  $6,000,000 — Grant award maximum:  $750,000; Grant award minimum: $350,000

Geographic Scope: National

Description: This program aims to provide technical assistance (TA) to employers (which may include public sector entities) and labor unions in the United States and its territories to encourage employment of women in both apprenticeable occupations and nontraditional occupations (A/NTO), specifically in the following ways:

  • Developing (establishing, expanding, and/or enhancing) pre-apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship, Registered Apprenticeship (as defined in Appendix B “Acronyms and Definitions”), or other nontraditional skills training programs designed to prepare women for careers in A/NTO;
  • Providing ongoing orientations or other resources for employers, unions, and workers on creating a successful environment for women in A/NTO; and/or
  • Setting up support groups, facilitating networks, and/or providing supportive services (as defined in section IV.E.3) for women in A/NTO to improve their retention.

Applicants may propose to provide technical assistance to support women’s participation and success in the full range of industries in which women are historically underrepresented or where women are disproportionately concentrated in the lower-wage occupations. Such industries include, but are not limited to; advanced manufacturing, construction, energy, health care, information technology, finance, and transportation. Applicants with experience working with or as an equity intermediary are encouraged to apply, as well as applicants with a proposed focus on expanding outreach/recruitment to historically underrepresented communities, including but not limited to women of color and women with disabilities, women at or below the federal poverty line, formerly incarcerated women, immigrant women, transgender women, and women who live in rural geographic areas

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Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development

Administering Agency: Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Posted Date: Mar 25, 2024

Closing Date for Applications: May 24, 2024

Geographic Scope: National

Description: The NIST National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) is seeking applications from eligible applicants for activities to establish community-based partnerships to develop cybersecurity career pathways that address local workforce needs. Effective multistakeholder workforce partnerships will organize multiple employers with skill shortages in specific occupations to focus on developing the skilled workforce to meet industry needs within the local or regional economy.

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Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding Opportunities

This is a searchable tool to help sort through the nearly 400 funding opportunities in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Users can search by funding agency, categories/topics, and eligible applicants.

Local Infrastructure Hub
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Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program

Administering Agency: Environmental Protection Agency

Posted Date: Nov 21, 2023

Closing Date for Applications: Nov 21, 2024

Funding Range: Total funds available:  $2,000,000,000 — Grant award maximum:  $20,000,000

Geographic Scope: National

Description: The Community Change Grants will fund community-driven projects that address climate challenges and reduce pollution while strengthening communities through thoughtful implementation. There will be two tracks of funding under this opportunity. Track I will fund approximately 150 large, transformational community-driven investment grants of $10 million – $20 million. Track II will fund approximately 20 meaningful engagement grants of $1 million – $3 million. Grants cannot exceed 3-years in duration. These programs will address the diverse and unique needs of disadvantaged communities by:

  1. Reducing and preventing pollution;
  2. Building resilience to climate change and mitigating current and future climate risks;
  3. Enhancing meaningful involvement in government processes related to environmental and climate
    justice;
  4. Expanding access to high-quality jobs and economic opportunity through workforce development;
    and
  5. Bolstering community strength by ensuring that local residents receive the benefits of investments
    and have the opportunity to build on them for current and future generations.

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Joint Office of Energy and Transportation Workforce Development Resources

The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (Joint Office) supports the deployment of zero-emission, convenient, accessible, and equitable transportation infrastructure. In addition to providing direct funding support for workforce development, the Joint Office has collated example resources to support workforce development activities for an electrified transportation system.

Joint Office of Energy and Transportation
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Tribal Nations Funding Opportunities

This page provides an updated and filterable list of funding opportunities for electric vehicle development in tribal nations.

Joint Office of Energy and Transportation
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ATTAIN Rail and Facilities Apprenticeship Meeting

This recorded meeting of the ATTAIN Rail and Facilities Committee serves as a resource for transit industry stakeholders and includes presentations on apprenticeship and case studies of successful programs across the country.

Transit Workforce Center
September 2023

To learn more, please visit our dedicated ATTAIN and apprenticeship page.

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Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

This landing page provides information about WIOA as well as resources to help employers take advantage of WIOA funding to support apprenticeship.

Department of Labor

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) was signed into law on July 22, 2014. WIOA is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy.

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Notice of Funding Opportunity: DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program

Administering Agency: US Department of Labor

Posted Date: May 15, 2024

Closing Date for Applications: July 1, 2024, 11:59 pm Eastern Time

Funding Range: Estimated Total Program Funding: $35,000,000 — Award Ceiling: $5,000,000 — Award Floor: $500,000

Geographic Scope: National

Description: The purpose of the DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program is to fund public-private partnerships to develop, strengthen, and scale promising and evidence-based training models in H-1B industries and occupations critical to meeting the goals of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and to maximize the impact of these investments.

Updated June 6, 2024 on TWC Resource Center. Please refer to the link below for the most up to date information from the funder.

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Grant Application Checklist for a Strong Transportation Workforce and Labor Plan

This checklist provides information on the components of an ideal labor plan when applying to DOT discretionary grants in order to best meet the criteria for a strong workforce. The checklist prompts grant applicants to consider their labor-management partnerships, workforce training and education, and hiring and retaining underrepresented workers.

US Department of Transportation
February 2023
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Enhanced Transit Safety and Crime Prevention Initiative FTA Funding Sources Factsheet

To help ensure the continued safety of our nation’s public transit systems, FTA launched the Enhanced Transit Safety and Crime Prevention Initiative to provide information and resources to help transit agencies address and prevent crime on their systems and protect transit workers and riders.

Federal Transit Administration
November 2022
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Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE)

Administering Agency: Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)

Closing Date for Applications: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis

Funding Range: $73.5M available total

Geographic Scope: Regional

Description: ARISE is an ARC initiative that aims to drive large-scale, regional economic transformation through multistate, collaborative projects across Appalachia.

With the additional funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, ARC launched ARISE to strengthen Appalachian business and industry, and to grow and support the development of new opportunities across multiple states.

Posted January 20, 2023 to TWC Resource Center. Please refer to the link below for the most up to date information from the funder.