Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grants (TAA CCCTG) - Round Two
Department of Labor
Application Deadline: May 24, 2012
The TAA CCCTG Program is authorized for $500 million for each of four years, fiscal years 2011 through 2014, to support educational and career-training programs focused on dislocated and unemployed workers. Each state will be guaranteed a minimum of 0.5% of the total funding, or $2.5 million per state per year.
The TAACCCT program provides grants to eligible institutions to expand and improve their ability to deliver education and career training programs that can be completed in two years or less, are suited for TAA-eligible workers, and prepare participants in grant-funded programs for employment in high-wage, high-skill occupations. The Department expects that successful applicants will propose projects that expand and improve their ability to deliver education and training programs and achieve improved education and employment outcomes, rather than simply offering their existing courses to more workers and other students. The Department is implementing this program in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education.
The overarching goals of this SGA are to:
- increase attainment of certifications, certificates, diplomas, and other industry-recognized credentials to better prepare TAA-eligible workers and other adults for high-wage, high-skill employment or re-employment in growth industry sectors;
- introduce innovative and effective methods for curriculum development and delivery that address specific industry needs and lead to improved learning outcomes and retention rates for TAA-eligible workers and other adults; and
- demonstrate, for TAA-eligible workers in particular, improved employment outcomes as a result of the funded program.
The Department is committed to funding applications that will use data and evidence to:
- design strategies that are likely to produce significant positive change in learning and employment outcomes;
- continuously evaluate the effectiveness of their strategies in order to improve their programming; and
- identify and integrate promising and proven strategies into their education and training programs. The Department expects that the TAACCCT grant program will contribute to the field of research on community college practices through the development and evaluation of innovative program models that provide workers with education and skills to succeed in high-wage, high-skill occupations.
Furthermore, the Department is interested in encouraging the development of accessible online learning strategies that can effectively serve TAA-eligible workers and other adults. Online learning strategies can allow adults who are struggling to balance the competing demands of work and family to acquire new skills at a time, place and pace that are convenient for them. For example, these strategies can improve access to quality education for TAA-eligible workers and other adults in underserved areas and have the potential to help them learn more in less time than they would with traditional classroom instruction alone. The Department strongly encourages consortium applicants to propose programs that reach large and diverse audiences across broad geographic areas and maximize resources available through this program.
A pre-recorded webinar will be available on March 9, 2012, and will be available for viewing anytime after that date.
