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Labor Department gives nearly $100 million in green-jobs training grants

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The government is funneling nearly $100 million into training programs for green jobs, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said today.

The funds, part of a $500-million green workforce development initiative through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will go to 25 projects around the country.

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The programs are designed to help workers find jobs -- such as hybrid and electric auto technicians, weatherization specialists, wind and energy auditors, and solar panel installers -- in growing energy-efficiency and renewable-energy industries.

The money will be parceled out in Energy Training Partnership Grants ranging from $1.4 million to $5 million each. Projects in communities affected by the restructuring in the auto industry will receive $28 million.

Only one project based entirely in California will get funding. $5 million will go to develop training for the state’s unemployed and underemployed electricians through the California State Labor Management Cooperation Committee for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Assn.

But four other grantees will spread their new resources across several states including California. For example, the Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, will spend part of its nearly $5-million package on women, minorities, incumbent workers and young people in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The International Training Institute for the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Industry will also include parts of the state as it creates training for veterans, minorities, women and the unemployed and underemployed using its nearly $5-million grant.

Funding figures for two remaining green grant categories will be released over the next few weeks, according to the Labor Department.

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-- Tiffany Hsu

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