CSA's Building Futures Program Wins Major Grant Award
Friday, June 24, 2011(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
The Metro Council’s Community Services Agency Building Futures
pre-apprenticeship training program has won a $900,000 grant as part of
the Jobs for the Future consortium. “This is a big deal,” said CSA Executive
Director Kathleen McKirchy, “we will get nearly $1 million over three years in
partnership with the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region and
Wider Opportunities for Women to keep our pre-apprenticeship training program
going.” The U.S. Department of Labor awarded six organizations with proven
track records a total of $38 million in Green Jobs Innovation Fund grants to
serve workers in 19 states and the District of Columbia. "This grant program is
an important part of the administration's efforts to equip workers with the
necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to succeed in green industry jobs,"
said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "These are smart investments in the
green energy jobs of today and the green energy economy of the future." The
Green Jobs Innovation Fund was authorized under the Workforce Investment Act to
help workers receive job training in green industry sectors. These funds will
help organizations with existing career training programs leverage Registered
Apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeship programs and community-based partnerships to
build sustainable green career pathways. The grants will help employers, as
well, by providing participants with the training they need for the
industry-recognized credentials on which employers rely.
Photo: Building
Futures students learn how to assemble scaffolding at Laborers Local 657; photo
by Silvia Casaro