Labor Dept. Awards $95.5M to Retrain Laid-Off Workers in 17 States
Federal grants back 20 projects aimed at rapidly placing displaced workers into high-growth industries within six months of enrollment.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday it is distributing $95.5 million in Rapid Reskill Dislocated Worker Grants to fund 20 workforce training projects across 17 states, targeting workers who have lost jobs to layoffs and need pathways into expanding industries.
The grants, administered by the department's Employment and Training Administration, are designed to rapidly assess a displaced worker's existing skills and channel them toward high-wage, in-demand occupations in sectors such as domestic manufacturing, aerospace, energy production, and construction — fields the administration has identified as central to what it calls a broader reindustrialization push.
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Under program guidelines, participating projects must aim to place enrolled workers into paid employment — whether full-time unsubsidized work, a registered apprenticeship, or structured on-the-job training — within six months of enrollment. Short-term, intensive training sequences leading to industry-recognized credentials are a core feature of the program design, which is authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling said the grants reflect an effort to ensure displaced workers can access careers without relocating. "They also help ensure a workforce for the Golden Age of reindustrialization and empower workers to stay rooted in their hometown," Sonderling said. Among the largest individual awards, Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Washington each received the maximum $6.59 million, while New York had three separate recipients sharing a combined total of roughly $11.1 million across different workforce organizations.
The grants span a wide geographic footprint, from Alaska receiving roughly $2.5 million to Texas landing two separate awards totaling nearly $9.5 million through different nonprofit and workforce organizations. Continue reading at DOL News Releases and Briefs.
