White House and Department of Labor Launch $100 Million TechHire Grant Competition Including $50 Million for Young Americans.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2015
FACT SHEET: White House and Department of Labor Launch $100 Million TechHire Grant Competition Including $50 Million for Young Americans
Today, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith, Cabinet Secretary and Chair of the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force Broderick Johnson, and Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, will travel to Baltimore, Maryland to announce new steps to advance the President’s TechHire initiative and expand opportunities for young Americans to get trained and placed into well-paying tech jobs. Baltimore is launching its TechHire initiative to expand pathways into tech jobs to those who have historically been left out of Baltimore’s economy and those who are underrepresented in tech fields.
America has about 5.5 million open jobs today. Over half a million job openings are in information technology fields such as software development, network administration, and cybersecurity—rapidly growing sectors with many more jobs than just a decade ago. Whether in manufacturing, advertising, retail or banking, the average salary in a job that requires information technology (IT) skills is 50 percent higher than the average private-sector American job.
Businesses have added 13.5 million jobs over 68 straight months of private-sector job growth, extending the longest streak on record. While this progress is significant, employers are in critical need of tech talent and too many Americans lack the skills and experience to access these well-paying jobs. Over six million young Americans between the ages of 16 and 24 are out of school and work, which represents a significant untapped resource of productivity and talent for the country.
That is why in March 2015, President Obama launched TechHire, a bold multi-sector effort and call to action to empower Americans with the skills they need, through universities and community colleges, but also nontraditional approaches like “coding bootcamps” and high-quality online courses that can rapidly train workers for a well-paying job, often in just a few months.
Since then, 35 cities, states, and rural areas with more than 500 employer partners in need of this workforce, have begun working together to find new ways to recruit and place applicants based on their actual skills and to create more fast track tech training opportunities. The President has set a goal of reaching more than 40 communities by the end of 2015.
Today, the Administration announced new steps to ensure that Americans, including youth and young adults ages 17-29, individuals with disabilities, individuals with limited English proficiency, and individuals with criminal records, get access including:
- $100 Million TechHire Grant Competition. Earlier this year, the President announced that as a part of the TechHire initiative, the Administration would commit $100 million to expanding accelerated tech training. Today, the Department of Labor (DOL) is releasing the application for those grants. They will award $100 million or more in H-1B funds, including at least $50 million specifically dedicated to supporting young Americans, ages 17-29, with barriers to training and employment, to partnerships that can that rapidly train and connect workers to well-paying, high-growth jobs across industries such as information technology, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing.
- $20 Million Training to Work Grant Competition. Building off the President’s announcement from earlier this month of new actions to promote rehabilitation and reintegration for the formerly incarcerated, today the Administration is also announcing the launch of the fourth round of DOL’s Training to Work grant competition that will award approximately 14 grants to expand access to tech jobs and other high growth occupations for adults ages 18 and older returning from correctional facilities. Interested applicants may apply to this opportunity here.
- 14 Cities and States Have Made New Commitments to Expand Access to Tech Training and Jobs Since the Launch. Since the launch of TechHire earlier this year, the President has announced that 14 new communities including Baltimore have responded to the TechHire initiative with commitments to work with employer partners on new ways to recruit and place applicants based on their skills, create more accelerated tech training opportunities, and invest in innovative placement programs to connect trained workers with entrepreneurial opportunities and well-paying jobs. Today, the City of Baltimore is launching its TechHire initiative with an emphasis on including those who have historically been left out of Baltimore’s economy and those who are underrepresented in tech fields.