The Tech Hire Partnership Grants competition, implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), was announced on November 24th with an application deadline of 4:00 p.m. ET on March 11, 2016.
Approximately $100 million will be made available for this opportunity. The full announcement can be found here: http://www.grants.gov/view-opportunity.html?oppId=280094
ARC Reimbursement
ARC plans to reimburse organizations serving the Appalachian Region up to $5,000 for costs incurred in developing a Tech Hire Partnership application. Reimbursable costs include expenses directly related to the development and writing of the application, including the costs of a professional grantwriter (either external or internal to the organization or organizations applying for the grants), costs for limited travel to facilitate meetings with the grantwriter and application partners, and reasonable costs for meetings of partners and grantwriters.
ARC is setting aside a total of $40,000 for this effort.
To be eligible for reimbursement, applicants must submit a Letter of Intent to submit a Tech Hire Partnership application by 5:00 p.m. ET on December 18, 2015. Applicants must send their Letter of Intent by email to TechHire@arc.gov. The letter must include a point of contact in the applicant’s organization, a list of the proposed partner organizations/applicant team members, and the area served. ARC funding is limited for this activity and may not be sufficient to fund all requests. Applicants are encouraged to submit their letters of intent with all requested information early to guarantee consideration of their application.
To receive reimbursement, applicants will be asked to provide ARC with a list of actual expenses incurred in putting together the application, and evidence that their application was successfully uploaded via Grants.gov to the Tech Hire Partnership program by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, March 11, 2016. Only the lead applicant for each application will be eligible for reimbursement.
Highlights of the Tech Hire Partnership program
This grant program is designed to equip individuals with the skills they need through innovative approaches that can rapidly train workers for and connect them to well-paying, middle- and high-skilled, and high-growth jobs across a diversity of H-1B industries such as Information Technology (IT), healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financial services, and broadband. Projects funded by this grant program will help participants begin careers in H-1B occupations and industries – such as IT and IT related, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financial services, and educational services – which are in-demand and/or high growth in the area applicants are proposing to serve. On a limited basis, this grant program will also enable applicants to work with companies on increasing the skills of existing workers in lower-skilled jobs to move into more highly skilled positions requiring technology-related skills. These grants will pilot and scale public-private partnerships among the workforce investment system, education and training providers, and business-related nonprofit organizations to address the following goals for the target populations: 1) Expand access to accelerated learning options that provide the fastest paths to good jobs, such as “bootcamp” style programs, online options, and competency-based programs to give people the skills required for employment in three months to two years among people with historic barriers to accessing employment and training; 2) Improve the likelihood that those populations complete training and enter employment, through specialized training strategies, supportive services and other focused participant services that assist targeted populations to overcome barriers, including networking and job search, active job development, transportation, mentoring, and financial counseling; 3) Connect those who have received training or who already have the skills required for employment, but are being overlooked, to employment, paid internships, or Registered Apprenticeship opportunities that allow them to get work experience and prove themselves to hiring employers; 4) Demonstrate strong commitment to customer-centered design and excellence in customer experience, so that the programs and services reflect real need of employers and participants, through human centered design methodology and other methods of design thinking; and 5) Ensure that innovations form the basis for broader change and sustainability over time and that a clear strategy exists for adapting to rapidly changing market needs after the initial period of the grant.
The DOL intends to make grant awards ranging from approximately $2,000,000 to $5,000,000, up to a total of approximately $100 million. Applicants must target of two specified populations, either “Youth and Young Adults with Barriers to Training and Employment” or “Special Populations with Barriers to Training and Employment.” Applicants serving rural areas are encouraged to form consortia so as to meet the minimum requirement of serving at least 325 participants.
Letters of intent and any questions should be sent to: TechHire@arc.gov.
