Los Rios Wins $5 Million Department of Labor Grant
The Los Rios Community College District has been awarded a $5 million, four-year Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grant from the federal Department of Labor. This award is part of a brand-new grant program and Los Rios is one of just 11 grantees nationwide and one of only two California colleges to receive an award.
"This innovative and collaborative project will increase opportunities for workers in our communities while supporting local employers at the same time."
The project, "Crosswalking Business Pathways to Public Sector Careers," will create new pathways to training for workers – including individuals with barriers to employment – for entry- and middle-skill jobs in the public sector. Grant activities include:
- The development of new Los Rios business information worker programs
- Increasing referrals from Sacramento Training and Employment Agency (SETA) and Capital Adult Education Regional Consortium (CAERC) to these new programs
- Increasing internship and other work-based training opportunities through the Institute for Local Government (ILG)
- Pursuing strategies to transform regional public-sector outreach and hiring practices
"This grant is a major win-win for our region," said Los Rios Chancellor Brian King. "This innovative and collaborative project will increase opportunities for workers in our communities while supporting local employers at the same time. We are grateful for this grant support and look forward to putting the project into action."
American River College will lead the project, which includes all the other Los Rios colleges – Cosumnes River, Folsom Lake, and Sacramento City colleges – and SETA, CAERC, ILG, and Valley Vision. There is a need to train an additional 2,300 skilled workers annually in the business information field. With shared focus and dedicated resources, the project will strive to address the annual gap in skilled workers needed and increase the number of individuals trained for business services careers in our region.