First Round of Future Ready Oregon Workforce Ready Grants Expand Community Partnerships and Innovative Solutions
The HECC has awarded $10 million in grants supporting 42 projects that prioritize underserved and marginalized communities
Salem, OR – The Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) is pleased to announce that it has awarded $10 million in the first round of Future Ready Oregon Workforce Ready Grants to 42 projects focused on encouraging innovation and removing barriers to job training and education for historically underserved and marginalized populations.[1] The Workforce Ready Round One: Capacity Building grants successfully expand the state’s network of workforce partnerships with community-based and culturally specific organizations and workforce service providers whose projects were selected in a competitive grant process.
The Workforce Ready Grant program investment of $95 million is the largest component of the $200 million investment made by the 2022 Oregon State Legislature through Senate Bill 1545, a package of investments that work together to advance an equitable workforce system. The investment provides direct financial supports and wraparound services to jobseekers from priority populations pursuing careers in the high demand fields of healthcare, manufacturing, and technology. This first round of grants was intended to broaden the type, number, and capacity of organizations that comprise Oregon’s workforce system. The HECC received a very strong applicant pool—146 complete applications, requesting over $70 million in total—and plans to launch a second round of grant opportunities in coming months.
Ben Cannon, executive director of the HECC, says, “Congratulations to the first round of grantees, and to all our community partners who helped us get the word out on this new program. We are so pleased to expand and deepen our network of workforce and education partners, and to fund robust, creative plans for connecting Oregonians from underserved communities to the postsecondary credentials needed to prepare for a future of increasingly complex work.”
The Workforce Ready Grant funds support an array of innovative proposals focused on the creation and expansion of education and training programs in high-demand fields; expanding the capacity of organizations to provide workforce development services; and providing direct benefits to individuals participating in these programs. The list of all 42 grantees is included at the end of this announcement. Descriptions of the 42 grantee projects can be found here. Project activities include the following.
- Developing culturally-relevant and industry-specific employment pathways, including projects that expand access to bilingual and bicultural workforce participants and English language learners, such as:
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Hacienda Community Development Corporation’s Spanish Language Digital Literacy program will connect individuals to family-wage jobs in the manufacturing and technology sectors, and
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Latino Network’s culturally-specific Spanish Language Community Health Worker training and certification program will provide continuing education and job placement support in the mental and behavioral health fields.
- Creating or expanding training and certification opportunities for priority populations in key careers across targeted industry sectors, such as:
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Oregon Workforce Partnership’s integration of WorkSource Oregon services into Oregon’s 12 state prisons will advance workforce training programs alongside the Department of Corrections, and
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Portland Fire & Rescue will launch an Emergency Medical Technician Certification Program for individuals from priority populations.
- Investing in organizational and programmatic capacity in the form of technology and equipment acquisition, curriculum development, and workforce-related research, such as:
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Chemeketa Community College will offer classes that lead to a Cultural Competency Certification, strengthening employer connections and ensuring workplaces are ready to inclusively welcome and retain new employees,
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Oregon Center for Nursing’s research project is designed to uncover barriers to nursing workforce expansion and retention specific to low-income and rural communities, and
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Warm Springs Community Action Team will develop a strategic plan for technology workforce training, serving tribal members living on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.
- Expanding existing successful programs to improve support for and workforce development opportunities in rural and frontier areas of the state, including mobile training and teaching labs as one strategy, such as:
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Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council’s addition of a mobile WorkSource unit will provide employment services to rural and frontier communities,
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Mt. Hood Community College’s mobile training/teaching lab will be used onsite at manufacturer’s sites for incumbent or existing workers,
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RISE Partnership’s Rural Equity Project will advance planning and curriculum development for mobile training units designed to simulate on-the-job training for the long-term care workforce, and
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The Contingent’s expansion of the Empowering Leaders Internship program to Southern Oregon will enhance career-connected learning opportunities for Jackson and Josephine County students from communities of color and lower-income rural backgrounds.
These Workforce Ready Grants are the latest Future Ready Oregon strategic investments that build on existing successes while advancing transformational change, connecting Oregonians to the postsecondary credentials needed to prepare for a future of increasingly complex work. For more information about the Future Ready Oregon education and workforce training investments and funding opportunities, visit www.Oregon.gov/HigherEd.
Workforce Ready Grants, Round One: Capacity Building
|
Grant Recipient
|
Award Amount
|
|
Advocates For Life Skills and Opportunities – ALSO
|
$300,000
|
|
AntFarm, Inc
|
$300,000
|
|
Baker Technical Institute
|
$89,500
|
|
Bay Area Enterprises
|
$300,000
|
|
Central Oregon Community College
|
$300,000
|
|
Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council
|
$300,000
|
|
Centro Cultural de Washington County
|
$300,000
|
|
Chemeketa Community College
|
$300,000
|
|
City of Hillsboro
|
$300,000
|
|
City of Portland, Portland Fire & Rescue
|
$300,000
|
|
Daisy C.H.A.I.N.
|
$225,496
|
|
Diversability Inc.
|
$50,000
|
|
EncodeXP
|
$193,870
|
|
Eugene-Springfield NAACP Unit # 1119
|
$225,953
|
|
Golden Rule ReEntry
|
$300,000
|
|
Hacienda Community Development Corporation
|
$300,000
|
|
Horizon Project Inc.
|
$143,780
|
|
Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization
|
$111,000
|
|
Klamath Community College
|
$300,000
|
|
Klamath Works
|
$200,000
|
|
Latino Network
|
$118,533
|
|
Mercy Flights
|
$267,813
|
|
Mid-Willamette Valley Communication Action
|
$168,630
|
|
Mt. Hood Community College
|
$300,000
|
|
Oregon Center for Nursing
|
$115,640
|
|
Oregon State University Ecampus
|
$52,737
|
|
Oregon State University
|
$278,141
|
|
Oregon Workforce Partnership
|
$107,500
|
|
PODER Oregon's Latino Leadership Network
|
$300,000
|
|
Portland Community College
|
$300,000
|
|
Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center, Inc.
|
$300,000
|
|
Portland State University
|
$223,741
|
|
RISE Partnership
|
$300,000
|
|
Rockwood Community Development Corporation
|
$181,985
|
|
Rogue Community College
|
$300,000
|
|
South Coast Business
|
$300,000
|
|
The Contingent
|
$300,000
|
|
United We Heal Training
|
$300,000
|
|
Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center
|
$300,000
|
|
Vision Action Network
|
$300,000
|
|
Warm Springs Community Action Team
|
$110,579
|
|
Willamette Education Service District
|
$274,329
|
|
