Once again competitive federal grant funds don’t make their way to WA, OR, ID, MT.
Last week the Biden-Harris administration awarded nearly a quarter-billion dollars to modernize, diversify and expand registered apprenticeship and no organizations from Washington, Oregon or Idaho won funding. This continues a pattern of the Pacific Northwest missing out on federal grant opportunities, with the recent EDA Tech Hubs announcement bypassing Spokane and the last three rounds of USDOL Strengthening Community Colleges funding ignoring Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Are organizations not applying? Applying and not winning? The past decade+ shows a strong track record of the Northwest winning grants and delivering positive outcomes, from a recent-ish Good Jobs Challenge win for Career Connect Washington to many rounds of winning TAACCCT grants in the previous decade.
To be fair, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development did win a competitive apprenticeship grant of over $5 million this round, and state apprenticeship expansion grants between $500k and $1.3 million were awarded to the northwest, but those were based more on formula than merit or case-making.
Are you concerned about the lack of funding coming to the Northwest for apprenticeship and workforce development? Do you need a thought partner as you prepare for the next round of Strengthening Community Colleges or other USDOL funding opportunities? Get in touch: