PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government has awarded Maine’s Department of Labor $3.66 million for statewide programs to help long-term unemployed people find work and training, particularly in the areas of health care, information technology and advanced manufacturing.
Maine was one of 27 states to receive a grant, which U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez said aims to align job training with in-demand fields and complete the “unfinished business of the recovery” from the last recession.
“Developing job training programs that keep up with a fast-changing labor market is key,” Perez said.
The grant will fund programs that aim to help people who have or are about to exhaust unemployment benefits and have been out of work for more than 27 weeks.
The number of initial and continuing unemployment claims has declined since the recession, with continued claims filed last week down about 1,528 from a year ago. About 7,410 continued claims were filed in Maine for the week of June 13, according to the Maine Department of Labor’s Center for Workforce Research and Information.
According to a project description for the grant, the state’s Bureau of Employment Services plans to work with regional employers in health care, IT and advanced manufacturing and provide career help to people without work through local workforce boards and other entities.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the grants will help job seekers find on-the-job training opportunities, transitional jobs, apprenticeships and other employment search help.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins praised the award to Maine Thursday in a prepared statement.
“When we make investments in the American workforce, our communities, our state and our country benefit from increased wages, a more competitive workforce and greater productivity,” Collins said.
Perez said the award comes in advance of reforms to federal workforce development policy, passed last year in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which takes effect July 1.
The U.S. Department of Labor granted awards to 27 states and the Cherokee Nation from the Workforce Investment Act Dislocated Worker National Reserve, totaling $138 million.