State grants available to Pa. businesses looking for skilled workers
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The state is making $4.6 million in grants available to Pennsylvania businesses that want to form partnerships to improve the quality of worker education and workforce development.
The PAsmart Next Generation Industry Partnership Grant program is designed to address the state’s deficit in adequately trained workers in industries such as advanced manufacturing, health care and agriculture.
“For some time, employers have expressed concerns about what they call the ‘skills gap,’ which is the difference in the skills that are required for a particular job and the actual skills employees have,” said state Rep. Joseph Petrarca, D-Vandergrift.
“These grants will provide job seekers with the training and skills that employers need and meet the career goals of workers who want to expand their skill set and increase their earning potentials,” Petrarca said.
Grants of up to $250,000 per partnership are available.
The program will fund the creation of partnerships among employers, workforce development boards and educational institutions — partnerships that connect multiple employers in the same industry with students, workers and job seekers in the following fields:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Agriculture and food production
- Biomedical and health care
- Building and construction
- Business services
- Education
- Energy
- Hospitality
- Logistics and transportation
- Real estate
- Finance and insurance
Eligible grant applicants are required to partner with a local workforce development board on applications. The deadline to apply is Jan. 3.