Apprenti Wins $23.5 Million Grant Funded by the American Rescue Plan

Apprenti today announced that it has been named one of 32 grant winners as part of the $500 million Good Jobs Challenge funded by the American Rescue Plan. The Good Jobs Challenge is administered by the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration and will enable communities across the country to invest in innovative approaches to workforce development that will secure job opportunities for more than 50,000 Americans. Specifically, Apprenti will use the funds to create more Cloud Operations and Cybersecurity professionals for employer partners that include Amazon Web Services and its customers and Boeing and its aerospace vendors.

“Tech apprenticeships have proven to successfully place diverse talent into tech careers, providing underrepresented groups with upward economic mobility,” said Jennifer Carlson, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Apprenti. “As a grant recipient, we are able to help 11 regions across the country develop their local technology workforce with a focus on diverse talent pools. We are highly appreciative of the U.S. Department of Commerce for selecting Apprenti based on our track record in registered tech apprenticeships.”

The 32 winning projects were selected from a competitive pool of over 500 applicants to help solve for local talent needs and increase the supply of trained workers and help workers secure jobs in 15 key industries that are essential to U.S. supply chains, global competitiveness, and regional development. This funding will advance a broad range of sectors—including agriculture and food production, energy and resilience, healthcare, manufacturing and information technology—jumpstarting the design, development, implementation, and expansion of training programs that are tailored specifically to each community.

“A trained workforce is essential to ensuring that the United States can compete and succeed in the 21st century,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Thanks to funding from the American Rescue Plan, the Commerce Department is able to make once-in-a-generation investments in industry-driven, and locally-led workforce systems that will create high-quality jobs and accelerate regional economic growth, especially for underserved communities.”

“By integrating industry in every step of the talent development process, these awardees are focused on supporting underserved communities in diverse areas across the country, helping to remove systemic barriers for workers and connecting employers with the trained workforce they need to grow and sustain competitive local economies,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Castillo.

The Good Jobs Challenge is part of a suite of American Rescue Plan programs developed by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to equitably distribute its $3 billion allocation to assist communities nationwide in their efforts to build a better America by accelerating economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and building more resilient, shockproof local economies. EDA is currently evaluating all applications and will announce grantees for the full suite of programs by September 30, 2022.