U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez will visit Springfield Technical Community College Wednesday in Springfield, Massachusetts, to highlight the Obama administration’s unprecedented investment in job training partnerships between community colleges and employers Since 2011, the Labor Department has awarded nearly $2 billion in grants to almost 700 colleges around the country to strengthen and expand these partnerships, including more than $56 million in Massachusetts.
Secretary Duncan and Secretary Perez will tour a manufacturing training program at the college, funded in part by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development and a $20 million U.S. Department of Labor grant to community colleges across the state in 2011. Last week, a similar statewide consortium received an additional $20 million from the Labor Department to expand those efforts.
Following the tour, the secretaries will join education and workforce leaders, employers and students for a roundtable discussion on the impact of these investments. A media availability will follow.
On Sept. 29, Vice President Biden announced the winners of $450 million in job-driven training grants going to nearly 270 community colleges who are partnering with more than 400 employers across the country. The funding is part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) competitive grant program, which is co-administered by the Education and Labor departments.
Media interested in attending the events should contact
Ted Fitzgerald or Xochitl Hinojosa with the Labor Department using the contact information below.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Ted Fitzgerald, 617-565-2075, [email protected]
Xochitl Hinojosa, 202-617-4645, [email protected]