Broward College Receives $1.15 Million Grant from U.S. Department of Labor to Help Close the Workforce Skills Gap

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE       

College has received over $17 million dollars from the U.S. Dept. of Labor in the past four years

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (September 11, 2015) –  The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced Broward College will receive a $1.15 million grant as a part of the American Apprenticeship Grant Program. This is the fourth grant Broward College has received from the U.S. Department of Labor since 2012, totaling more than $17 million dollars in funding. Through these grants, Broward College has formed successful partnerships with businesses in the community and successfully connected students with employers.

Broward College will receive its $1.15 million over a five-year project period. The grant total of $5 million is shared in partnership with Florida State College at Jacksonville and St. Petersburg College. This three-college consortium has pledged to work with local businesses to close the workforce skills gap in the information technology, manufacturing, healthcare, and construction and trades industries across Florida, by promoting the growth and expansion of quality and innovative apprenticeship programs. In total, 1,000 participants will be served through the grant’s program.

“We are proud to be a partner, supporting the growth of many in-demand industry sectors, such as information technology, manufacturing and healthcare,” said Broward College President J. David Armstrong, Jr. “With this grant, we will be able to assist in addressing the skills gap concerns many of these industries face, while delivering quality education and training to ensure our students are prepared to enter these competitive, well-paying industries.”

The primary purpose of the grant is to develop flexible and accelerated approaches to learning that focus on upskilling incumbent workers from low-skill or entry-level positions to mid-skill and more advanced positions that will also result in creating opportunities for apprentices to fill entry-level positions. The grant will assist in developing simulation experiences in coordination with hands-on experiences and reducing start-up costs for new employers by building platforms for training that multiple employers can employ.

In 2013, Broward College was chosen to lead the LINCS initiative, a consortium of 12 colleges and universities across the nation were recipients of a $24.5 million grant, to create education and certifications in Supply Chain Management. In its first year of programming, the consortium has had nearly 300 certifications. Broward College’s portion of the grant was $12.9 million, making it the largest grant in the College’s history. Industry partners include SEKO Logistics, Miami International Freight Solutions (MIFS) and Cargill, Inc.

In 2012, the College received nearly $1 million as part of a $15 million grant that was awarded to 12 colleges for the Florida TRADE (Transforming Resources for Accelerated Degrees and Employment) in Advanced Manufacturing Consortium. The grant improves Florida’s existing training and education system in advanced manufacturing by aligning its vast resources and partnerships and offering wide access to training that will help address the growing critical skilled workforce shortage faced by the state’s manufacturing industry and related industry clusters. As of September 10, the consortium has had 500 participants in the Florida TRADE grant and more than 260 credentials have been earned. Out of those enrolled, 230 incumbent workers received skills upgrade training and 80 persons gained employment. The program hosts regional partnerships, such as Nipro Diagnostics and Decimal Engineering, to foster career exploration and job placement opportunities for students.   

In 2012, Broward College also was one of four higher education institutions to receive part of a nearly $12 million Adapting and Adopting Competency-based IT Instruction to Accelerate Learning for TAA-Certified and Adult Learners grant. Broward’s award totaled $3,272,991. As a result, Broward College launched a pilot Competency Based Education program, providing accelerated training for computer system support specialists. The program created competency-based instructional models in information technology that offer adult learners technology-enabled, stackable, latticed, career pathways leading to credentials with marketplace value and jobs within two years of entry. As a part of this consortium, more than 400 people have participated in the program. Industry partners include Dell, Citrix, Intel, the Miami Dolphins, Career Source Broward, and Memorial Healthcare Systems. 

For more information, contact Angela Nicoletti at 954-201-7939 or anicolet@broward.edu.