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January 13, 2010 – Today, Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson welcomed an announcement by the U.S. Department of Labor that the Lincoln area will receive more than $2.3 million under the department’s Pathways Out of Poverty program to fund job training. The grant is made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“The stimulus bill is about jobs,” said Senator Nelson. “This project is a model partnership of local Lincoln organizations that will train workers for new green construction jobs and help match them with available work.”
Southeast Community College and the Center for People in Need will partner with other Lincoln-area organizations to implement the training program. It will be hosted in the newly expanded Center for People in Need facility, a project made possible by federal funds secured by Senator Nelson. Senator Nelson will be speaking tomorrow, January 14th, at 2:00pm CT at the Center for People in Need as part of a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of its expanded facility.
With the grant, Southeast Community College will provide a program of energy efficient construction training, wraparound support services, and job placement to participants to help meet a projected 14.7 percent increase in construction workforce needs in Nebraska. The grantee will teach the core curriculum of the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER), which consists of eight basic green construction courses, basic communications and basic employability skills. The program will include support services from the Greater Lincoln Workforce Investment Board One‐Stop and multiple partner agencies, plus computer training, Vocational ESL classes, GED and Adult Education and job skills workshops to help participants retain jobs.
The Lincoln program aims to serve 400 eligible participants for entry‐level positions in the energy efficient construction industry and place approximately forty‐eight percent of participants into unsubsidized employment.
U.S. Department of Labor Pathways Out of Poverty grants integrate training and supportive services into cohesive programs that will help targeted populations find pathways out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency through employment in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. Despite the economic downturn, these green industries present many potential opportunities for individuals to learn new skills and competencies, gain employment and advance along career pathways. Nationally, thirty-eight awards ranging from approximately $1 million to $8 million have been made.
Senator Nelson played a key role in the passage of the $787 billion stimulus bill. He worked with a bipartisan group of nearly 20 Senators to better focus The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on tax cuts for the middle class and job creation for millions of Americans. Senator Nelson led the group through the initial bill line by line, dollar by dollar, to reduce spending and cut out $108 billion of inefficient or less-stimulative spending. The bipartisan group helped the improved bill win congressional approval. President Obama signed it into law February 17, 2009.
Senator Nelson is posting information about the release of stimulus finds on his website as it becomes available. Visit http://bennelson.senate.gov/feature_4.cfm for more information.
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