FAIRFIELD, Maine — The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded Kennebec Valley Community College $2.5 million to support job training programs in health care, social work and construction.
The grant award comes as part of the last round of a $2 billion pool of money from a federal fund to support community colleges and career training.
“These grants will play a vital role in supporting community colleges and fostering partnerships to educate and prepare our students to become experienced workers on the path to advancement and upward mobility,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
The U.S. Department of Labor said in an announcement Monday that award recipients were required to demonstrate a local labor market need for training in specific industries, an evidence-based program design and a method for converting on-the-job training to academic credit.
According to the Maine Department of Labor, hospitals are expected to add the highest number of jobs in the state from 2010 to 2020, at 9,626. The nursing and residential care industry was projected to add 2,322 for that period, making it the fifth largest growth sector during that period, just ahead of ambulatory health care services and then social assistance. Jobs in construction and specialty trade contracting are projected to grow by 2,238 for that period.
All of the participating programs also are required to track progress of students, which the department said will be used to study the types of training strategies that lead to good jobs.
Over the last four years, the federal program has invested $21 million in Maine, including a $13 million grant awarded to seven of Maine’s community colleges to support training opportunities in information technology fields.