On November 15th, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the availability of $98 million in funding for approximately 75 YouthBuild grants. YouthBuild is a community-based pre-apprenticeship program that provides job training and educational services for youth ages 16-24 who left school without a secondary diploma and face other barriers to employment.
Participants learn vocational skills in construction, as well as in other in-demand industries. They split their time between the vocational training work site and the classroom, where they earn their high school diploma or equivalency, learn to be community leaders, and prepare for postsecondary training opportunities, including college, apprenticeships, and employment.
YouthBuild includes significant support systems, such as a mentoring, follow-up education, employment, and personal counseling services, and participation in community service and civic engagement. In this 2023 competition, DOL is encouraging partnerships between training providers and implementers of DOE’s clean energy infrastructure projects and other IIA infrastructure projects. Applicants are asked to customize training to prepare participants for jobs on specific infrastructure projects funded by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda.
Applications are due on grants.gov by February 1st, 2024.
Review the DOL FOA here.
Official Press Release can be viewed here.
