The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) today announced $11.2 million for job skills training, work readiness, internships, work experience, on-the-job training and job placement for Minnesotans.
Through DEED’s Transformative Career Pathways program, the agency partners with training providers across the state to help members of underserved communities prepare for and find family-sustaining employment. Providers expect to serve more than 2,000 Minnesotans through the grants announced today.
“Helping people gain the skills they need to find employment with the possibility for wage growth is life changing,” said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek. “The grants announced today will serve Minnesotans with multiple barriers to employment – a key part of our mission to empower the growth of Minnesota’s economy, for everyone.”
“Many employers in key industries – particularly health care – continue to face labor force shortages,” said DEED Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development Marc Majors. “Identifying talented candidates and connecting them with strong trainings with industry-recognized certifications will help employers meet their labor needs. These training programs and services are good for workers, employers and our state’s economy.”
The Transformative Career Pathways program focuses on skills training and support services to bring populations of workers who have been historically overlooked and often face multiple barriers to employment – particularly people of color and people from low-income communities – into the workforce at family-sustaining wages. This is the program’s second grant round.
The Immigrant Development Center in Moorhead received a $700,000 Transformative Career Pathways grant last year. So far, the first cohort of participants has completed the Center’s Manufacturing Bootcamp and Forklift Certification training, and a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training program is underway. The Center also organized an employer connection event as part of the program to facilitate direct hiring opportunities upon certification. The Center will start a Medication Administration training course later this year. More training sessions will follow.
“The feedback from our current CNA participants has been very positive, with several asking us to add more health care certifications,” said Tolu Afolabi, the Center’s Chief Operations Officer. “This suggests the prog
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