Creation of Healthcare Virtual Career Platform: Competition for $13.2M in grant funds

Funds also will be used to build capacity of community and faith-based organizations

U.S. Department of Labor today announced a competition for approximately $13.2 million in grant funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to create and implement a virtual service-delivery platform and promote career exploration in the healthcare sector.

"Increasing access to information and resources on healthcare careers will help more workers enter this growing industry," said Secretary Solis. "This funding will support the creation of an easy-to-use online platform, which will allow individuals to access this information quickly and conveniently from their homes, any One-Stop Career Center or the local library."

Grants will be awarded to support projects that use virtual service-delivery models to promote career opportunities in healthcare and other high-growth sectors. The grants will be awarded in two categories: Healthcare Virtual Career Platform and Enhancing the Ability of Community- and Faith-Based Organizations to Deliver Virtual Career Exploration Services, Including Healthcare Careers.

Eligible applicants for the HVCP grant are private nonprofit organizations with a nationally-focused mission to promote education, workforce development, employment or retention.  It is anticipated that the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration will award one grant for up to $6.6 million to develop and operate an HVCP.

Eligible organizations for category two include private national and multi-state nonprofit community- and faith-based groups including labor management organizations that deliver services through a network of local affiliates.  These include nonprofit organizations that operate One-Stop Career Centers in more than one state. It is anticipated that ETA will award two to four grants totaling approximately $6.6 million that will allow grantees to increase client access to virtual career exploration services.

The solicitation for grant applications will be published in the April 7 edition of the Federal Register. It provides background information and the closing date, describes eligibility and submission requirements, outlines the process that eligible entities must use to apply for funds and details how grantees will be selected. To view the full solicitation online, visit http://www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm.

For additional assistance in applying for these grants, interested parties should review ETA's online toolkit for grant applicants at http://www.workforce3one.org/page/grants_toolkit.

To learn more about the range of Department of Labor Employment and Training services, visit http://www.doleta.gov.

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